Official PaizoCon 2015 Feedback Thread


PaizoCon General Discussion

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Pathfinder Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber

like many this was my first Paizocon and it was a blast; and like a lot i was confused a lot but unlike most I did sign up for events. Only thing i did not really understand what I was signing up for but they where a pleasant surprise As this was my first Paizocon I can't say this or that in improvement. What i can say is I have attend a lot of conventions and all of them by the third day I go damn about time to go home but this one damn i did not want it to end. I wish I had more access to the event schedule ahead of time. the food in the hall way was great I was lucky I fell into the right events that I like but next year i hope to make the right choice and not hope i picked the right one. I though there would have been more vendors but as it was it was nice. Why if I bought a book wasn't i given and pdf copy also? that would have been a nice touch. more society events the card events where cool but the roll playing seamed lacking or I just did not know where to look. Anyway that is it for now I might think of some thing later


Unseelie wrote:
Oh, and the paizo.com gift certificate does not seem to actually be redeemable? When I go to the address listed on it, it loads a blank page. No option to enter in the code for the gift certificate.

If you click on "My Account" there is a "Gift Certificates" section and you can redeem it there. Worked for me!

Community Manager

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Unseelie wrote:
Store: The new space is MUCH bigger, but it felt like there was less third party product than the year before. No Green Ronin, which is a damn shame... Advanced Bestiary is one of the best third party books for Pathfinder ever. Also, the new Freeport book is just amazingly gorgeous. There was also no Raging Swan product, where there was the year prior. Creighton's stuff is great.

Both of those are total derps on my part (I'm sorry Chris & Creighton ;_; ) when I was putting together the packlist.

Scarab Sages

billythebrick wrote:
Unseelie wrote:
Oh, and the paizo.com gift certificate does not seem to actually be redeemable? When I go to the address listed on it, it loads a blank page. No option to enter in the code for the gift certificate.
If you click on "My Account" there is a "Gift Certificates" section and you can redeem it there. Worked for me!

Yep, that worked. Thanks. Pity the gift certificate didn't say that.

Silver Crusade

This was my first time at Paizocon instead of Gencon, Dragoncon, etc. and I have to say wow! The staff were all very welcoming and approachable. Thanks for a truly great vacation. My feedback is as follows:

• Venue: The hotel was great and the staff were very pleasant. Breakfast and lunch were easy to get (thanks for the concession stand!), and a decent price considering the convenience of eating in the hotel. It was quite a hike from where the rooms were located to the main area though.

• Schedule Format: I very much enjoyed the break in the afternoon. In the future I might suggest if the afternoon break were a bit shorter and the morning events start a bit later. Something to the effect of 9:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m., then a break for seminars and such from 2:30 - 4:30 p.m., and an evening session (except for the banquet) from 5:00 p.m. until 10:00 p.m. It might then be possible to have the convention hall open from 10:00 p.m. until 2:00 a.m. if people want to do a late night pick-up game. This also gives staffers some extra time after closing if they want to hang out and mingle at the hotel bar.

• Tickets, Badges & Registrations: Extremely quick and efficient. Swag bag was a great deal, and I was very pleased to receive everything inside.

• PFS Location: There was plenty of space between tables. The only time I had difficulty hearing was during the specials. I also like the bar in the convention hall. I might suggest clearly defined lines for people with and without tickets outside the hall. That was a small challenge prior to the beginning of the specials.

• Pick-up Games: There was never a clear way to figure out what pick-up game was occurring at which table without interrupting people at times. Perhaps a dry-erase board or two for people to fill out the what and which table for the pick-up games? Or one person on staff with a clip board to help direct?

• PFS HQ: Nothing but the utmost love for PFS HQ! Very informative and helpful the entire time.

• PFS Games: They were awesome. The Friday and Sunday specials were great to play, and the regular scenarios I played in were very well run.

• Paizo Store: The store was very well run, and product was easy to locate. Staff were very attentive and helpful. Bryan and the volunteers at the Reaper area were hilarious and awesome to talk to. I would have liked to have seen a few more vendors.

• The Delve: Great part of the con. Watching Erik Mona fighting for an Ifrit's life against a group of four kids was one of the more memorable PaizoCon moments for me. I would like to see it go to 30 minute sessions instead of 20 just for cool things like that.

• Lottery Events: I got to play in Owen K.C. Stephens Emerald Spire session on Monday, and it was a great way to close out my con experience! Truly a memorable game, and a great time.

• Seminars and Events: I wanted to call special attention to Celebrity Gaming with Nicolas Logue and Auntie Lisa's Story Hour. Nicolas's session had the whole room laughing almost the entire time, and listening to Lisa and her love of the industry and her team was an incredible experience. The rest of the seminars were very enjoyable and informative.


A dry erase board is a great idea!

Also, this is a tiny, somewhat personal gripe, but I just remembered that during the banquet I couldn't see the new Occult iconics very well. My eyes aren't very good and I lost my glasses ages ago (I've been putting off buying new ones), so a zoom-in on each of them would have been kinda cool.

Liberty's Edge

So, I was skeptical about the midday break. I typically go to conventions to get in as much PFS as possible over the three or four days. Even my off slots at Gen Con, I try to play PFS or go to the dealer room.

But after experiencing it, I really liked it. I went to a couple seminars. Enjoyed a nice alone time breakfast. Got to chat extendedly with John Compton, Mike Brock, Linda Zayas Palmer, Owen K.C. Stephens, Mark Seifter, Stephen Radney-McFarland, Erik Mona, Lisa Stephens, James Sutter, and Liz Courtz to name a few. I also got a 2-1/2 hour nap in before the special, that was really nice.

I loved it.

How did others feel?

RPG Superstar 2009, Contributor

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Andrew Christian wrote:

So, I was skeptical about the midday break....

I loved it....How did others feel?

I loved it, too, because it gave third-party publishers (like Legendary Games) an opportunity to fill that assumed "void" with several tables of our own special event to showcase the upcoming Legendary Planet Adventure Path we're doing. We got a lot of great feedback and participation, seating 59 players across Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. And, I think a lot of those players might have been busier with PFS if the midday break hadn't existed. So, it helped give third-party publishers a window in which to shine, as well. If possible, I think it'd be cool to do that again next year, and maybe other publishers can run a slate of games and panels during that time, too.

Grand Lodge

Pathfinder Adventure, Adventure Path, Pathfinder Accessories, Rulebook, Starfinder Adventure Path Subscriber

This was by far the most relaxed PaizoCon for me, but it may have had something to do with being Tier 3 rather than Tier 1. I actually got to play some games rather than be always-on while GMing.

Liberty's Edge

Starfinder Superscriber

Break is good. Keep the break. Without the break, I definitely wouldn't do Tier 1 GM.


I agree with the many positive comments raised above. The new venue is excellent, the PFS room was a huge improvement over the previous hotel's, the food options were much better (and I agree with Feral about the sticky rice from Mango Thai - it was the last thing we ate before heading to the airport today).

A few points I'd add or echo in particular:

- The muster process for PFS is more cumbersome than it needs to be. Could we pre-muster on Warhorn? I know this might create the possibility of people double-booking themselves with lottery games, but it seems there should be a way to use a tool like Warhorn. That way, PFS staff get an idea which games are filling up or have a waitlist and which are not, and can adjust accordingly. And the madness of each muster should be less, as the muster staff will only be dealing with folks who want to do something other than their Warhorn sign-up. In order to be at a table with the three other people I wanted to play with, I had to convince the muster point staff that they could switch an empty Core game to a Norm game - and I had to do this three times.

- Related to the previous point, and to some made earlier - would it be possible to take a more thoughtful approach to scheduling scenarios than odd one day and even the next?

- The Sunday night special was awesome! The pregens were great, playing as Aspis agents on the other side of a story we had just played was incredibly fun.

- The PFS slots probably don't have to be 5 hours long. Making them 4 hours would definitely allow a little more time for sleep and still time for just as many scenarios to be played.

- I was surprised by this, but I really liked the afternoon open slots - I played some lottery games in that time, one pick-up PFS game, and had downtime to nap and go to a panel. I think it's a good structure, and I'd echo the request for some way to help folks coordinate who want to play a pick-up game during that time. I was lucky enough to be there with 3 other people, so we could get a game together pretty easily and just grab a couple of stragglers to have a full table. If I'd been on my own looking for a game, it would have been harder.

- Finally - every year, PaizoCon is the thing my son and I do that is more fun than anything else. We spend days together just having a blast, playing games, meeting great folks, and wishing it would never end (except perhaps for a sleep day now and then). Thank you so much for that.


Someday I will find Owen KC Stevens and make him pay for placing my name between his. He's eluded me so far, but I go to this con every year. Every year, Owen. Someday...

KCspeak:
I keep seeing that name and reflexively thinking people are talking about me. I mean, "KC" can't be a common combination for things, not without an "F" in between. I'm not crazy here! Stop with those looks!

The Exchange

Pathfinder Adventure Path, Lost Omens, Rulebook Subscriber; Pathfinder Battles Case Subscriber
Khelreddin wrote:

I agree with the many positive comments raised above. The new venue is excellent, the PFS room was a huge improvement over the previous hotel's, the food options were much better (and I agree with Feral about the sticky rice from Mango Thai - it was the last thing we ate before heading to the airport today).

A few points I'd add or echo in particular:

- The muster process for PFS is more cumbersome than it needs to be. Could we pre-muster on Warhorn? I know this might create the possibility of people double-booking themselves with lottery games, but it seems there should be a way to use a tool like Warhorn. That way, PFS staff get an idea which games are filling up or have a waitlist and which are not, and can adjust accordingly. And the madness of each muster should be less, as the muster staff will only be dealing with folks who want to do something other than their Warhorn sign-up. In order to be at a table with the three other people I wanted to play with, I had to convince the muster point staff that they could switch an empty Core game to a Norm game - and I had to do this three times.

- Related to the previous point, and to some made earlier - would it be possible to take a more thoughtful approach to scheduling scenarios than odd one day and even the next?

- The Sunday night special was awesome! The pregens were great, playing as Aspis agents on the other side of a story we had just played was incredibly fun.

- The PFS slots probably don't have to be 5 hours long. Making them 4 hours would definitely allow a little more time for sleep and still time for just as many scenarios to be played.

- I was surprised by this, but I really liked the afternoon open slots - I played some lottery games in that time, one pick-up PFS game, and had downtime to nap and go to a panel. I think it's a good structure, and I'd echo the request for some way to help folks coordinate who want to play a pick-up game during that time. I was lucky enough to be there with 3 other people, so we could get...

THey do, honestly, need to be 5 hours long. A lot of tables can't finish in 4 hours including getting everyone seated, signed in, and doing chronicle sheets. Being a tier 1 GM is tiring, honestly, and having the extra time to set up, break down, and get the admin work done is very helpful for us. Past cons have done things in 4 hours, and things were really rushed.

Paizo Employee Developer

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melferburque wrote:
Adam Daigle wrote:
Garrett Guillotte wrote:
Someone said "crawdad." :( :( :(
I know, right!?!
I'm a seattle native and always called them crawdads. we had them in the creek behind my house when I was a kid. am I missing something?

No, you're not missing anything. The Cajuns are just being intolerant of regional dialects, which is weird when you consider Creole. In any case, I was the "offending party" and I'm not sorry. Crawdads forever!

Paizo Employee Developer

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Mark Moreland wrote:
melferburque wrote:
Adam Daigle wrote:
Garrett Guillotte wrote:
Someone said "crawdad." :( :( :(
I know, right!?!
I'm a seattle native and always called them crawdads. we had them in the creek behind my house when I was a kid. am I missing something?
No, you're not missing anything. The Cajuns are just being intolerant of regional dialects, which is weird when you consider Creole. In any case, I was the "offending party" and I'm not sorry. Crawdads forever!

Damnit, Mark.

Grand Lodge

Pathfinder Adventure, Adventure Path, Pathfinder Accessories, Rulebook, Starfinder Adventure Path Subscriber
Adam Daigle wrote:
Mark Moreland wrote:
melferburque wrote:
Adam Daigle wrote:
Garrett Guillotte wrote:
Someone said "crawdad." :( :( :(
I know, right!?!
I'm a seattle native and always called them crawdads. we had them in the creek behind my house when I was a kid. am I missing something?
No, you're not missing anything. The Cajuns are just being intolerant of regional dialects, which is weird when you consider Creole. In any case, I was the "offending party" and I'm not sorry. Crawdads forever!

Damnit, Mark.

As an Arizonan Ohioan, I only have theoretical knowledge about what you guys are talking about.

Sovereign Court

Liz Courts wrote:
D6Veteran wrote:
For the marketing staff - if possible you really should consider making t-shirts with the iconic characters. These would sell like hot cakes! I have to think there is some IP reason you can't do this because I'm sure someone else has thought of this. I can tell you that it would be an incredible marketing tool for Pathfinder.
Like these ones here? T-Shirts are kind of weird to merchandise at the store for us, and we haven't quite figured out the best way to handle them quite yet.

This selection would have been great. Being from Canada I couldn't bring my kids as they would have had to miss school. I wanted to buy them shirts but only found the CRB shirt, which may be more cool for boys I didn't think it would have the same effect on young girls.

STORE: I did think the store could have been better stocked. It was a huge room with space for much more stock and/or 3PP's.

VENUE: Was very happy with the hotel. Places to eat near by, both across the street and the 2 malls close by. Rooms were comfortable and roomy, though wish they had a bar-fridge to store drinks and left over foods.

SEMINARS/EVENTS: Happy with the seminars I got into.

Wished the Hero Lab was a 2hour, as we were just starting to get into multiple examples of things when time ran out, hope it comes back again next year. Same with Cartography.

Liked the Evil campaigns seminar, would like to see a series of similar, like how to run a low magic.

As someone that is diping into painting minis I thoroughly enjoyed Dallas Kemp's Mini Basing. Hope he also comes back to do something again next year. Wish I had gotten an email from him to pick his brain during the year.

My girlfriend and I spent much of our free time at the Reaper Paint/Take. Much thanks to Brian for his hospitality to two noobs at mini painting.

BANQUET: Good food, which was fantastic because we starved ourselves beforehand, which wasn't good because I looked like a glutton. Well spaced so there was room between the tables. Sat at Jason Bulmahn's table, is he always a grump? Or was it because he was sick? ;)

OVERALL: Had a good time. Will be back for a 3rd consecutive Paizocon.


Pathfinder Adventure Path, Rulebook Subscriber

I like the break in the schedule, but it was rough running events until 12 midnight and getting back up for breakfast and getting set for 8 am. There was a kid at my table (and a couple of adults) who were getting a little drowsy toward the end.

I like the suggestion mentioned above for either starting later in the a.m. or starting earlier in the p.m. (or both).

Dark Archive

Fourth PaizoCon for me. It has been really great to see the 'con shift from a smaller venue up in Redmond to the great space it was in this year.

The Good:

  • The swag bag is incredible. Like others, I was a bit surprised given how closely it matched (if not exceeded) the price of my ticket in value.
  • Registration continues to impress year after year. I help manage another large convention and have a history of large events, both general geek culture and tabletop. PaizoCon's registration check in speed is exceptional. As I understand it, a lot of work goes into making it run so smoothly. Thank you to everyone whose effort behind the scenes makes this possible.
  • The PFS/Panels/PFS split is really helpful. I was able to get a better mix of games and panels in this year because of it. Previously, I'd had to choose between making sure I got PFS scenarios in that I really wanted to play at PaizoCon vs. panels I really wanted to attend. PFS, sadly, usually won out.
  • Reaper paint and take is, as always, so much fun.I live in Texas and Reaper is usually at just about any tabletop con doing this, so I'm familiar with the setup. But I wanted to express how nice it is to be able to take a break in a quiet space, paint minis, and chat with folks throughout the con. Please keep inviting them back!
  • Great venue. Now, I want to caveat this with the fact that I didn't stay at the hotel this year. My usual room mates were unable to attend, so I utilized an AirBnB nearby to keep costs low. But the Doubletree was closer to lots of good options, the lobby was spread out a bit more for socializing, and the coffee shop was nice. I'll definitely try hard to get a room on site next year, but would be more encouraged to do so if the Con Block is a bit closer to the convention space. I'm reading above this wasn't the case.
  • Scheduled signing table was a great idea. I usually don't get things signed at PaizoCon as hunting down specific folks can get time consuming. Plus, panels being back to back means that asking for autographs at the end of panel is a juggling act with needing to clear out. I broke this rule for Kurtis Wiebe/Rat Queens as he was only there for a single day, but it was nice knowing I could otherwise get some things signed at specific times.

Suggestions:

  • Push the start of scheduled events back to 9 AM. Finishing at midnight Friday & Saturday made 8 AM games Saturday and Monday hard to manage. I didn't go to the banquet Saturday, but I did go out that night with some friends who are local and chose to skip my 8 AM slot because it was just too early. I struggled on Monday and could tell my GM and table mates were having trouble too. An extra hour at least guarantees you can get a good 7 hours sleep in plus shower/breakfast if you're staying at the hotel.
  • If possible, post the signing schedule as part of the larger events schedule on each day.This is really minor, but it would help in planning my days out ahead of time.
  • Get the delves a bit further away from Syrinscape.So, I will say, the live recording with Syrinscape was amazing. I loved it. But the delve I was in sat a couple hundred feet away. While we were in awe of some great burps, screams, and goblin voices, it also meant pausing the game as we couldn't really hear ourselves at some points (i.e. The screams). I'm not sure if this is best served by moving the delve or the Syrinscape booth. I had thought of the delves shifting in the hallways, but they really aren't wide enough. I imagine the Syrinscape booth also loses its luster (and acoustics) being in a closed space like the store. Food for thought on next year's layout; maybe someone will see a solution I'm failing my Perception check for.

PFS Specials Stuff:

Already posted in the PFS Bloggery thread, but here for thoroughness. Spoilers if you haven't played them.

On Serpents Siege:

The Good

  • Nice mix of social choices, sector based encounters, and a more linear set of objectives. Something for everyone, as it were.
  • I like that each phase had rumors and clues as to what was going on. That was a nice touch.
  • The lenses on the top floor were neat! I love seeing encounters where the environment is a factor for tactics. Please do more of these!
Suggestions

  • Definitely has significant pacing issues. I wondered if this was my GM, but I see this feedback in enough other posts for other tables to wonder if the scenario itself may share some of that burden. I also reflected a lot back on Legacy of the Stonelords last year, which didn't seem to have trouble pacing despite being a similar format. I also thought to the Year 2 special, also built around a similar plot thread an attack on the lodge, and remember it having a much greater sense of urgency. This one struggled to match both of them in each of these areas. This may mean just examining the flavor and flow of events as presented in the special itself to help GMs keep things moving and create a good sense of urgency.
  • There did not seem to be a climactic final confrontation fight as the scenario was presented to us by the GM. This feels sort of flat at the end. I had been hoping to fight a full team of Aspis Agents, for example, or some powerful Silver/Gold Agent. The cleric and cronies didn't strike that chord.
  • Less a suggestions, and more of a challenge: I would like to see a special next year that departs from the formula we've seen the past three years of Pathfinders working through Tier appropriate encounters in a given sector to take control of it. This is a great format for a battle interactive...but we've done three of those now. My hope is that the Sky Key Solution leans closer to Race for the Runecarved Key in format. I won't be at GenCon, so it will be awhile before I get to find out.

On Serpents' Rise:

The Good


  • The pregens were brilliant. Bravo! I especially liked 322, the Artist, and The Leader. The "titles" were really great for giving the team a heist feel for the adventure. I'm even more excited to see they will likely each have a scenario focused around their machinations this season. Please, please, please, PLEASE make it clear in the blurbs for each scenario that they are the villain so we can make sure to play it with the right character.
  • The side tasks were a great for interplay between the team, so everyone had their "role" for the heist before it became combat.
  • The Aram Zey fight was tough and fun. I definitely liked the challenge of doing a high tier combat with the set parameters of the pregens.
  • The "optional" party member was a blast from what I hear; we sadly did not recruit them.

Some Suggestions

  • Make sure with side missions that the team members can talk about, they are encouraged to do so by the GM. There were a few burps at first when things were treated like secret objectives that weren't.
  • Keep doing scenarios like this. That's really all I have to say. It was a ton of fun, it is great to get to play something I normally wouldn't/can't in Society, and the writing for their personalities was spot on.

Liberty's Edge

Starfinder Superscriber
Grolick wrote:
THey do, honestly, need to be 5 hours long. A lot of tables can't finish in 4 hours including getting everyone seated, signed in, and doing chronicle sheets. Being a tier 1 GM is tiring, honestly, and having the extra time to set up, break down, and get the admin work done is very helpful for us. Past cons have done things in 4 hours, and things were really rushed.

Yes, I agree with this. My non-special scenarios were The Overflow Archives and The Wounded Wisp. Both are low-tier scenarios that, in my experience, sometimes do run short, and I was frequently done after 3.5 hours. And, it was nice not to feel rushed. But I did see tables with other games filling all five hours. And, the Aspis special... well, let's just say my table was out of the room by the end of the 5 hours, but for the last bit, the HQ staff was telling the tables still running (of which there were seeral). that the room was going to close momentarily.

Something like 2/3 of the tables could probably fit in a 4-hour slot. But, I'd much rather err on the side of having enough time and not feeling rushed than making 1/3 of the tables get cut off too early, or leave the GM feeling the need to be rushed and really make sure the characters are on task from the minute the game starts.

Sovereign Court

Overall I had a good time. People were great. GMs were great. Scenarios I played were fun.

Thanks to Jonathan Choy for running Scion of the Sky Key parts 2 & 3 in the afternoon slots. I got to play through the whole trilogy which wasn't possible in the regularly scheduled slots (schedule fail on Paizo's side).

I am not a fan of the afternoon slots having no PFS scheduled. I come to PaizoCon to play PFS primarily and perhaps a lottery event if I can get one.

The five hour slots I like. Some times it's hard to complete in 4hours especially as the tier goes up.

Really enjoyed the Serpent's Rise. It was fun being the bad guys and I am looking forward to stopping the machinations of my alter self in some future scenario.

Dark Archive

Pathfinder Pathfinder Accessories Subscriber; Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber; Starfinder Charter Superscriber
Garrett Guillotte wrote:
I'm surprised PaizoCon 2016 wasn't mentioned at the preview banquet. The dates for it were in the inside rear cover of the program and I'm assuming it'll be at the same venue, but it seemed like an odd omission.

Would it be possible for someone to let me know when it is? I'm looking to go back next year, and would like to start planning/anticipating it...

Community Manager

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Enlight_Bystand wrote:
Garrett Guillotte wrote:
I'm surprised PaizoCon 2016 wasn't mentioned at the preview banquet. The dates for it were in the inside rear cover of the program and I'm assuming it'll be at the same venue, but it seemed like an odd omission.
Would it be possible for someone to let me know when it is? I'm looking to go back next year, and would like to start planning/anticipating it...

May 27-30, 2016.


Here's my Con report (Pathfinder Adventure Card Game oriented):

I too enjoyed the goodie bags. It also enabled a lot of people to play PFSACG and I'm ecstatic that this has happened since this means they'll play back at home hopefully.

The Paizo employees were all very friendly. Stories about the "overheard in the Paizo office" thread and other stories were very fun.

Prize support was also very good; I also enjoyed the PFSACG boon support though I'd like to see more of that.

Venue was great, though the banquet hall was very loud. It was a bit distracting at first.

Most of the PFSACG people did try to play during the day; people went to the demo room instead.

I should remind myself that the lottery is a thing for next time; I come from other types of conventions and it didn't occur to me that people sign up for events here. I don't remember if there was an email sent out about it, but if there isn't, maybe there should be?

Paizo Employee Chief Technical Officer

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Mark Moreland wrote:
I suggest next year that everyone who didn't go to PaizoCon go.

That's 7.3 billion people! We're gonna need a bigger hotel...

Paizo Employee Developer

Vic Wertz wrote:
Mark Moreland wrote:
I suggest next year that everyone who didn't go to PaizoCon go.
That's 7.3 billion people! We're gonna need a bigger hotel...

First world problems.

Designer

Mark Moreland wrote:
Vic Wertz wrote:
Mark Moreland wrote:
I suggest next year that everyone who didn't go to PaizoCon go.
That's 7.3 billion people! We're gonna need a bigger hotel...
First world problems.

My Paizocon scenario won't help us fit the entire world at Paizocon #9!

Grand Lodge

Pathfinder Adventure, Adventure Path, Pathfinder Accessories, Rulebook, Starfinder Adventure Path Subscriber

Mark needs to get creative with extra dimensional spaces. FREE YOUR MIND, MAN.

Paizo Employee Chief Technical Officer

2 people marked this as a favorite.
Garrett Guillotte wrote:
I'm surprised PaizoCon 2016 wasn't mentioned at the preview banquet. The dates for it were in the inside rear cover of the program and I'm assuming it'll be at the same venue, but it seemed like an odd omission.

It will be at the same venue. Unless 7.3 billion people show up.

Paizo Employee Chief Technical Officer

Justin Sluder wrote:
Seamstress_Druid wrote:
I also liked the employee with the green and blue mohawk he was super helpful and awesome!
Probably Will Chase.

Yep.


1 person marked this as a favorite.

In last year's feedback thread, a few of us talked about the swag bag:

Khelreddin wrote:
Just want to echo the point about the change from the canvas bag to the Giant Purple Bag of Crinkling and Crackling. The swag bag went from being something I carried throughout the Con and then happily brought home and gave as a gift to a friend who couldn't attend PaizoCon to being something too awkward to usefully use during the weekend then that got left in my hotel room when I left.

And we got an encouraging answer:

Erik Mona wrote:

Bag change wasn't really financial. We'll consider doing something cooler next year.

I want to be clear, the contents of this year's bag were awesome. But if it's possible, I'd love a bag like the cool canvas one of two years ago, over the purple thang.[/ooc]

Technology Manager

1 person marked this as a favorite.
Vic Wertz wrote:
Mark Moreland wrote:
I suggest next year that everyone who didn't go to PaizoCon go.
That's 7.3 billion people! We're gonna need a bigger hotel...

Yeahhhh, I may need to run a second game....

Sczarni RPG Superstar 2015 Top 32

This was an amazing year, and I think there was a great deal happening that made it so.

Location
The hotel was amazing, and with few exceptions I felt everything was located in accessible and close locations. The Olympic rooms felt oddly placed, and my wife had trouble with the stairs that she needed to navigate to get to the Evergreen rooms. I thought I saw an elevator that would have allowed her to avoid those stairs but I couldn't find them on the map.

I both liked and hated that my room was a quarter mile away from the convention floor. I now had exercise but when I needed to run to grab something from my room quickly I literally had to run if I didn't want players waiting for too long. I had less flexibility with what I could leave in my room. On the flip side, the distance allowed me to feel like the convention was in one place and my private, quiet room was in another.

Games and Events
I ran two lottery games, played two lottery games, played one adventure card game, and I ran the Sunday special cold so they could fill another table. I did one delve, went to a couple panel/seminar, and was able to do the 1-on-1 Ask An Editor. I also played Pirate Loot with Jason Bulmahn on Friday night, hung out at the bar with many people throughout the con, and chatted it up with many people at random times. My wife and I attended the preview banquet as well.

I think it can be said that I was able to do a great deal. I didn't do Pathfinder Society (with the exception of the Sunday night special) but that is because I didn't bring characters to play with.

The Evergreen rooms where games were being played and ran always had tables open and available for people to come in and use. However, there wasn't something inviting people to come in and use them, nor was there a way to advertise an open seat at a table. I did have one person wander in and ask if they could take any empty seat that I had, but besides having the courage to ask there wasn't much of a way to find a game. A sign that directed people to certain free play rooms would be helpful, and a dry erase board to post open games would really help out.

I want to beg Paizo to continue to do the Last Character Standing event. I came in late and was only able to squeeze in at the last moment, but what I caught looked fun and I really enjoyed the feedback. I saw only a few people in the room, so it wasn't that popular but I think excluding it from future years would be a mistake. With time it could become a popular event.

The large number of tables with water, glasses, paper, and pens was brilliant. Thumbs up to those. They were used in all the events I attended.

My advice for anyone complaining about a lack of lottery events is the same: Run more lottery events yourself. I'll do a whole new thread about this.

The food was great at the banquet and this year had food my wife could eat (she is allergic to soy). We had a great table and a fun time. It was hard to see anyone giving a presentation at the time, but with a room that large someone is going to have to be a bit far away. If lights directly above the screens could be turned off that would be great. It was hard to make out details on some of the slides.

Store, Food, and Stuff
The store was great, but the room felt big and empty near the back. The paint and take was great, but you certainly have room for more cool stuff in there.

The hotdog station was a godsend. My wife came along for many reasons, and one of them was to call me up to remind me to eat. Having that station allowed me to quickly grab something between games and not show up cranky and hungry. It also gave her a peace of mind that Hungry Taylor wasn't prowling the con. No one wants Hungry Taylor prowling a con.

The food places nearby were great and we spent a few hours a mall to take a break. When we needed to escape and find a good place out of the way we could.

We don't have kids of our own but we are often acting as parents and mentors. We were aware of kid events, like kids track games, but we did feel a lack of events that actively encouraged younger gamers. We have come up with a Swallowtail Festival idea that we could pitch to Paizo (and offer to set up and run) if people feel they would like more events geared towards younger attendees.


bdk86 wrote:
Fourth PaizoCon for me. It has been really great to see the 'con shift from a smaller venue up in Redmond to the great space it was in this year.

Agreed. The location was superb. Close to the airport (and a short, free shuttle ride), and also easy to get into the city (shuttle back to the airport & Link to downtown). Also, cookies.

Silver Crusade

Pathfinder Maps Subscriber

This years con was outstanding. A large group of us traveled to Seattle for PaizoCon, and none of us left disappointed. We had some veterans to the con and some that had never been to any sort of gaming convention. Each of us had a different experience but in each case all had a great time.

We had power gamers that played PFS in every time block and if there was not one running in the grand hall, they started a pickup game. Some of us tried as many different events as possible and enjoyed the con for its many selections of Seminars and third party events. Of the 11 people who went to the con most of us got at least 1 or 2 lottery events. We all shared these events and made sure everyone had something to do.

All the GM’s we played with did fantastic jobs. Both special were fantastic and will be talked about, at our lodge, for the year to come. Already the players are gearing up to take on those evil Aspis agents. At my table the GM did a great job. He let us role play and have fun playing evil and killing pathfinders. Great Job by everyone.

Every Lottery event that we played in turned out to be fantastic. Most of us visited each night in the bar to share stories of the great games and GM’s we had gotten to play with that day. We all loved the Legendary Special “To Worlds Unknown” and plan on spending our money on the AP. Also a big thanks to Mark Seifter for running Anagnorisis. From what I hear from my son, it was the best game of the con. The Lottery games did give us our only bad experience this year. Saturday night a bunch of us had managed to get tickets for Midgard: Goblin in the Brewery. At this point some of our group had already played it and told us it was great. Alas, we will never know, as our GM decided he would rather go to the banquet instead of running our game. It was a disappointing, but as die hard gamers we pulled out a couple quests and went to town. As far as the Midgard games go, we heard they were good, but I don’t think I will be signing up for any of them in the future. Burn me once, shame on you, burn me twice, shame on me.

We all loved the new location. The service was great and the selection of restaurants around the hotel was a nice change from the last two years. Denny’s and Dave’s were our goto places for a late night meal to share our daily adventures. The hotel bar and restaurant also turned out to be a great hang out so we could meet up, grab a snack, and get ready for a pick up game. We also used many of the small lounges around the hotel to set up pick up games. All in all the hotel really worked out for our group.

I just want to thank the Paizo staff for all of their hard work. The Delves were fanatic and Cosmo’s clowns and McDonalds gang were terrifying. We all died with smiles on our faces.

All and all a great con and I’m sure we will double our number that travels to the con next year. Thank you all

Liberty's Edge

Starfinder Superscriber
Khelreddin wrote:

In last year's feedback thread, a few of us talked about the swag bag:

Khelreddin wrote:
Just want to echo the point about the change from the canvas bag to the Giant Purple Bag of Crinkling and Crackling. The swag bag went from being something I carried throughout the Con and then happily brought home and gave as a gift to a friend who couldn't attend PaizoCon to being something too awkward to usefully use during the weekend then that got left in my hotel room when I left.

And we got an encouraging answer:

Erik Mona wrote:

Bag change wasn't really financial. We'll consider doing something cooler next year.

I want to be clear, the contents of this year's bag were awesome. But if it's possible, I'd love a bag like the cool canvas one of two years ago, over the purple thang.[/ooc]

I second the notion. The purple thang was functional for its purpose, but I didn't ship it back with me. I still use the PaizoCon 2013 bag to carry stuff to game day.

If the canvas bag really is more expensive, it's all cool, but if it turns out the two are close enough in price, the canvas bag is made of ongoing awesome.


rknop wrote:
If the canvas bag really is more expensive, it's all cool, but if it turns out the two are close enough in price, the canvas bag is made of ongoing awesome.

Maybe offer the canvas bag at the store and allow folks to trade the $10 gift certificate for the canvas bag (or vice versa). I personally didn't mind the plastic bag and even brought an empty one home with me, and I'd prefer the gift certificate over a bag, but it'd at least give everyone an option. It might drive more traffic into the store, too.

Grand Lodge

1 person marked this as a favorite.
Pathfinder Battles Case Subscriber; Pathfinder Maps Subscriber

first of all the HQ staff. Thank you so much, you guys were awesome and we could not have done this without you. I loved being able to walk in, get my table, materials and just head right in as a GM. I liked the waiting area where GMs would pick up their group and head to a table, worked out great.

I would suggest having a wall/area/section where people could volunteer and set up sign-ins for Pick up games, maybe with a folder of sign in sheets nearby. GMs could easily set up games early and with a single location to check on people could organize or even put up desired games /times/locations as needed. I was happy to get in an extra PFS game when I wasn't running but I saw a number of people looking for games that couldn't find one.

Aside from that, loved the location, loved the schedule and look forward to running again next year.

RPG Superstar 2009, Contributor

Doug Benson wrote:
We all loved the Legendary Special “To Worlds Unknown” and plan on spending our money on the AP.

That's exactly the kind of interest we hoped the event would generate! Thank you for playing. We're looking to launch the Kickstarter in mid-June. That should let it run through the days leading up to GenCon, where Legendary Games will also be sharing a booth in the dealer's hall with Kobold Press and TPK Games.


Here is my full write-up of my first ever PaizoCon over at GeekDad.com. Thanks for such a great experience!

Dark Archive

I had a great time at my first PaizoCon!

We appreciated the instructions provided about the Lottery, including the "Buddy" system for the lottery events. Hubby and I assigned each other buddy status, then ranked the same events the same way. We got into 2 lottery events and had a blast playing them.

Since we rarely get to play at home (usually GMing, often older scenarios), we greatly appreciate all those who spent their time and energy prepping and GMing for us.

We liked the schedule with the 8-1, 1-6, dinner break and 7-midnight. It is very similar to other cons we attend. Yes, it means we generally hit the sack at midnight rather than the bar, but we get to socialize with people throughout the small breaks between scenarios, food runs, etc. For those of you who don't often run PFS, while a fully prepared GM can sometimes get the scenario and the paperwork finished in four hours, it gets difficult. If there is a high level table involved - and a lot of summoned monsters on the table - just forget it.

We appreciated the hot dog stand, the coffee shop, and the bar in the ballroom. We ate a number of our meals in the hotel bar, just because it was easy. The fish tacos were tasty (on the bar menu - not the limited menu). The other hotel restaurant had a decent breakfast bar with a continental option for $12 and a lot of fresh fruit. I think this contributed to our health during the con and after. The banquet was some of the best hotel banquet food I've had (and I've eaten a lot of them). This says a lot for the planner of the banquet and the hotel. I hope future banquets are as good.

I had no complaints about my hotel room, the service to it, or the location. It is what I expect from a moderate priced Hilton property. I appreciated the shuttle and the early check-in without additional charge.

Now to figure out if we can make it next year!

Dark Archive

This is my third year attending PaizoCon and each year the convention gets better and better. Below is my feedback on my experience.

The Venue:
The Doubletree by Hilton Hotel was a wonderful venue for this year’s PaizoCon. The restaurant and the bar were a tad bit expensive (but that is to be expected with hotels) though I did love the number of little areas to sit as well as the several small fireplaces that were lit throughout the hotel. The Cascade rooms were nice and personable even with some of the running 2-3 separate games in the same room. The Olympic rooms were very nice and had good lighting. The only drawback to the Olympic rooms were the giant pillars which would block the view of a couple of seats behind them.

Convention Hours:
I think the new format of hours with the PFS break in the middle is very nice. It tended to fill the afternoon panels with people who play Pathfinder quite often and therefore could offer some valuable insight into the seminars discussions. I do feel the Paizo Store could have stayed open until 4pm on Monday to accommodate any last minute purchases but that is only a minor detail.

Food Choices:
I appreciate the fact that there were a lot more food choices available this year which helped break things up each day. The food at the hotel was good but as stated above it was overpriced.

Seminars/ Events:
With regards to seminars I can only give input on the ones I attended which are as follows:

--How to Name Anything Workshop:
I enjoyed this seminar as it gave input into not only methods to use but also gave insight into things to avoid and consider when creating a Proper Noun for something. I would love this seminar to be available next year but perhaps in a larger time slot.

--Adventure Design 101:
This seminar is a favorite of mine as the idea machine between the panelists and the audience is always helpful with ideas for adventure creation and the different ways to plot out such stories.

--Inside Occult Adventures:
I liked this panel though I could tell that there was some diplomatic measures in place as not only was this the last seminar of Friday but in this panel the same 2 questions were asked in four different ways. The answering of these same questions took most of the panelist’s time and patience though the other information of the panel was a delightful insight into the new hardcover.

--Writing for Paizo:
This panel was very informative as to the expectations required of a freelancer as well as the measures one could take to get Paizos’ attention into the freelancer pool. I think a small exercise in writing might be helpful to this seminar but overall enjoyable.

--Celebrity Gaming w/ Nick Logue:
By far this gaming experience was one of the best things to witness at any convention I have gone to. Nick was fantastic and incorporating James Jacobs Harrow cards was a wonderful way to incorporate the audience. It was a wonder to behold Nick Logue at work and is something I will always remember.

--Horror in RPG’s:
It has been great seeing this panel grow over the years and expand in its focus and direction. The ideas from the panelists were creative, insightful, and very much personal which I love to see. This panel is one of the panels I look forward to seeing ever year.

--Secrets of Golarion*:
A solid tried and true panel that I feel may need a little bit of caution for attendees to come with secrets they wished to be answered. Still a panel I wish to see for PaizoCon’s to come.

--Ask the GM’s Session Two:
I missed the first session due to a lottery event so having this panel available for a second time was a great convenience for me. I enjoyed the advice and would like to see this panel in the future.

--Pathfinder Art Preview:
I really liked this seminar of the Paizo fans getting an insight in the works to come while also Wes gave insight into while the art piece was made, how it fits in Golarion, and where it will be found. This was a wonderful panel that I hope to attend next year.

--The Future of Pathfinder RPG*:
This year this panel seemed to feel a little disjointed and rushed which perhaps could lend itself to needing a larger time frame given Paizo’s expansion of products and merchandise. I was nice to attend though it just felt a tad bit hurried is all.

--RPG Design Workshop:
This seminar took me off guard with the lack of an NDA needed but the spit-balling of ideas for the Vigilante class was nice to participate in and also witness. Always a great panel to be a part of.

--Celebrity Gaming w/ Greg Vaughan:
This panel was delightful to witness and to see a more each of the panelist having fun was nice. This seminar had less participation than Nic Logue’s did but that was not for any lack of trying, I just feel Nick’s free form story-telling allowed more audience participation that Greg’s did. Still seeing this type of seminar available at PaizoCon was a great thing to be a part of and witness.

--Designing Worlds Workshops*:
I feel this is another useful seminar that could have more useful with a larger time slot and a small workshop perhaps. The seminar was informative and very interactive which is always helpful.

--Cartography for RPG’s*:
You could definitely tell that the panelists seemed a bit shocked as to the turnout of people for the seminar. Their shock was awesome and they all provided wonderful insights into maps and their conceptions. This is a panel I hope to see continue next year.

--Miniature Trading After Party:
I always this this part of the con though I feel it would have been better to be held in the Grand Ballroom on the far right side next to the bar. That way people had enough room to display their miniatures as well as interested parties having enough room to survey the goods.

*These seminar I feel could benefit from the use of the projectors for future seminars.

Registration:
The Registration line went by very smoothly and quick and I applaud you for all of your efforts in getting the con attendees their packets very, very quickly.

PFS/ PACG Grand Ballroom:
I loved that the Ballroom had plenty of space both in between tables and room that separated PFS from the PACG Organized Play. The bar was a lovely pleasure to have and one feature I hope which will continue to be a part of the Grand Ballroom. The space allowed for the volume in the room to be dispersed and made for a pleasant gaming experience. One thing I would change would be to have a separate roll for PACG boons separate from PFS boons when cashing in your PFS coins.

Paizo Store:
The Paizo Store was a bit scarce with regards to merchandise but I am confident that next year Paizo will be able to utilize the space better than this year. I was a bit disappointed in not seeing Green Ronin in the Paizo Store and I would love to see more publishers/ freelancers have table space for next year. I liked having the signing table in the Paizo Store and I would love to see this continue for years to come. I did feel the Obsidian booth was a little inconsistent in terms of when they would be there and when the demo would be displayed.

The Banquet:
The Banquet Dinner was very nice and specious (as it was the same setup as the PFS room) and I appreciated the idea that there were 3 food stations spread out across the hall. The food was good and the servers did a wonderful job of being attentive to everyone’s plates and waters. The announcements are always great though I was hoping to hear of future releases regarding the Campaign Setting line as well as the Companion line.

The Program Guide:
The Program Guide, much like last year, was very informative and concise. The only thing I would like to also see in the guide would be the Signing Schedule which was displayed inside the Paizo Store in the Program Guide.

Swag Bag:
The Swag Bag was filled with so much awesome goodies this year and I hope to see this continue for PaizoCons to come.

As a personal token of gratitude I wish to thank all the Paizo staff as you were most helpful, kind, generous, and just plain awesome at PaizoCon. This was my wife’s first PaizoCon and you all helped her fall in love with you, with Paizo as a company, and with Pathfinder as a whole. I cannot thank you guys enough but from the bottom of my heart I wish to say…Thank you. We hope to see you all next year :)


Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber; Pathfinder Starfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Roleplaying Game, Starfinder Society Subscriber

This isn't really feedback about Paizocon so much as it is Pazio's convention schedule. This weekend I'm attending Awesome Con in the Washington, DC Convention Center. This convention is generically geeky with venues for Sci-fi/Fantasy/Comic Books, TV, Movies, Table Top Games, Video Games, Art, Anime, Cosplay, and a whole lot more. Also, this is a rapidly growing convention! So, if Paizo hasn't considered adding Awesome Con to their Convention Schedule they should really give it a look!


Liz Courts wrote:
D6Veteran wrote:
For the marketing staff - if possible you really should consider making t-shirts with the iconic characters. These would sell like hot cakes! I have to think there is some IP reason you can't do this because I'm sure someone else has thought of this. I can tell you that it would be an incredible marketing tool for Pathfinder.
Like these ones here? T-Shirts are kind of weird to merchandise at the store for us, and we haven't quite figured out the best way to handle them quite yet.

I didn't know you had those! Now just need something other than black ;)

We'd buy the whole set.

I used to manage marketing at trade/exhibit shows and t-shirts were always reliable sellers. Just need a variety of colors (white, blue, black and red are best). You'll quickly find which ones move the best.

Sovereign Court

D'oh! forgot to post feedback.

Overall
One of the best of the five PaizoCons I have been to. Many kudos to the Paizo staff for putting on one hell of a shindig. :)

Pros
The Venue: I have to say while I really did like the hotel from 2013 (and I assume 2014), the new location was really great. The staff was friendly and helpful. The food at the hotel was good (pricy, but that is to be expected when one eats at a hotel) and the selection of restaurants in walking distance was a nice change from 2013. The scattered tables and couches/chairs made for some great rally and gaming spots.

The New Schedule: Count me as one of those who really liked the new schedule format. Past PaizoCons had me facing the tough choice of PFS of a panel, but this solved that quandary for a good number of panels. Hopefully next year I will actually manage to get word in before all the PFS GM slots fill up and I can definitely see where it could benefit scenario prep or review for an evening table.

The Store: I remember back in the day where the store at the Coast Hotel would fall like a line of dominoes if you dared lean to one side or the other. It was nice being able to walk through without worrying about causing a product avalanche. Hopefully the extra space will lead to more stuff on display for me to throw money at next year.

The Banquet: I swear the food at the banquet keeps getting better every PaizoCon. The reveals post food were also very cool (and one of the things I look forward to each PaizoCon). And I second the call to get Bulmahn a taller mic ... or a wireless mic. Let the man stand upright! ;)

The Swag: The swag bag this year was freaking awesome. If next year's bags have two packs of PF Battles boosters, I know one unofficial game that I will try to run next year either late night or during the mid day break.

Cons
Friday's Special: While the story seemed pretty good, the GM I had either did not prep well or was one of the folks who did not find out the final version was available until Friday. We lost about 30 minutes of game time to the GM reading the scenario at the table and missed out on the final encounter as a result (making the Special not so special). I know Mike, John, and crew bust their butts to get this stuff out in time for PaizoCon (and I am thankful they do work so hard to give us shiny things), and getting a beta version out early was good, but if the delivery deadline could be pushed to 1 week earlier (which I do know is asking a lot) I think it would make a world of difference.

Pickup Games: While I had made arrangements prior to PaizoCon for at least one pick up game, I do think a central notice board for folks to post pick up games would be a great addition next year. A dry erase board, a digital display, something. And have it in a conspicuous location.

Time: Even with a longer weekend, it still seemed to fly by so quickly. So is there any way that y'all can slow down time while PaizoCon is happening so it lasts longer? Or maybe add a few more hours to each day? ;)

Scarab Sages

Khelreddin wrote:

In last year's feedback thread, a few of us talked about the swag bag:

Khelreddin wrote:
Just want to echo the point about the change from the canvas bag to the Giant Purple Bag of Crinkling and Crackling. The swag bag went from being something I carried throughout the Con and then happily brought home and gave as a gift to a friend who couldn't attend PaizoCon to being something too awkward to usefully use during the weekend then that got left in my hotel room when I left.

And we got an encouraging answer:

Erik Mona wrote:

Bag change wasn't really financial. We'll consider doing something cooler next year.

I want to be clear, the contents of this year's bag were awesome. But if it's possible, I'd love a bag like the cool canvas one of two years ago, over the purple thang.[/ooc]

I brought my canvas bag with me, but papa's always happy with a brand new bag...


1 person marked this as a favorite.

I had a terrific first Paizocon. The highlight for me was (well, one highlight) in the RPG Design panel one of the guys looked at an empty bottle of cranberry juice on the table in front of him and started taking 'the cranberries of Golarion'thru development. Maybe there could be a food cart/vendor besides the coffee shop?

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