OPC Log—16 Desnus 4716

Monday, May 16, 2016

While writing last Moonday's blog, I realized there was way too much information I wanted to share and including it all would lead to reader overload. So I saved some of the Gen Con information for this week. It's also time to start the next Pathfinder Society Competition!

More Gen Con Info

There is no way to do everything at Gen Con by myself; there are just too many tasks and too many places to be. So every year a team of Lead Volunteers is named to help out. While I coordinate things between Gen Con and PFS, they do the same for all the volunteers. Months before the convention starts, just weeks after Gen Con 2015 ended, they started talking about Gen Con 2016. Through months of planning, generating schedules, corresponding with volunteers, compiling lists of supplies, they work closely with me to deliver a quality show. They arrive at Gen Con early and help me set up the Sagamore. Setup is a HUGE endeavor, involving unpacking pallets, building shelving, assembling table stands, folding papers, stuffing envelopes, sorting shirts... an almost endless list of tasks that all need to occur before Wednesday afternoon when our volunteers arrive. After four days of very little sleep, they help tear down the Sagamore, disassembling everything we built days before, packing up the pallets, rolling banners, and compiling a list of GM feedback. Only when everything is torn down and ready to return to Seattle do they take a breather and stop thinking Gen Con 2016. Then, a few weeks later, they review the feedback, read through the many post-Gen Con forum threads, and start thinking about Gen Con 50. The amount of time these volunteers spend putting the show together is immense and I cannot say thank you enough to them for all they do!

Without further ado—your leads!

Jon Cary—Jon started volunteering for Paizo at Gen Con in 2011. The next year, he was appointed Lead. This is Jon's sixth Gen Con with the Pathfinder Society. In addition, he was the Venture-Captain of the Dallas-Fort Worth area from September 2011 to December 2014. Jon is our tech guru, the master of the database, and wrangler of the HQ volunteers. Most importantly, he keeps an eye on Bob and Todd and preserves the OPC's sanity.

Bob Jonquet—GM herder extraordinaire, 2016 marks Bob's third year as Gen Con Co-Lead. He joined the Pathfinder Society at the outset and was a Tier 1 Gen Con GM in 2010, the first of many years of volunteering for Society events. Bob also leads the volunteer brigade at PaizoCon. When asked for a blurb, Bob wrote, "In his spare time Bob likes long walks on the beach, eating ice cream, and protecting the citizens of Gotham from evil".

Todd Morgan—The quite one, Todd shoulders the daunting task of organizing the data entry crew and is keeper of the reporting sheets. At 180 tables a slot and 10 slots, that is over 1800 pieces of paper to track. As a result of being holder of the paper, Todd shoulders the responsibility of fixing any reporting errors. This is Todd's third year of leading Gen Con volunteers. Todd is also one of two co-leads for PaizoCon. In his spare time, he plays in a band.

New for this year, we are adding Department Heads to the Gen Con leadership. They are responsible for coordinating tasks within their areas, getting volunteers breaks, handling on-site issues, and making sure players have a fantastic experience.

GMs—Venture-Captain Bobby Harring
Marshals—Venture-Captain Seth Brummond
Non-Marshal HQ Volunteers—Venture-Captain Walter Sheppard
Pathfinder Adventure Card Game Demonstrators—Venture-Captain Dominick Trascritti
Pathfinder Adventure Card Guild—Venture-Captain Micah Daniels
Pathfinder Society Academy—Venture-Captain Lucas Servideo

At this time, every volunteer should have received their schedule and replied to their appropriate Lead—Bob for GMs and Jon for HQ. Badges have been placed in Gen Con accounts. If you don't see a badge under your "my packet" category on the Gen Con website, please email me and I will look into the issue. I will start looking at room assignments After PaizoCon and will send another email with roommate information to those that qualified for a Paizo room.

As a result of planning months out, there are always cancellations. We are still taking applications for volunteers as a "wait list" to fill the inevitable holes in our schedule. Check out the Gen Con 2016 Call for Volunteers blog if you are interested in being on the wait list.

Finally, a GIGANTIC thank you to all the volunteers! Without you, the Pathfinder Society would not have the capacity to offer all the wonderful games and experiences to the attendees of Gen Con. Raise your glass high and toast your efforts! Huzzah!

Character Sketch Competition

Switching gears—it's time for another competition. For this one, break out your crayons, pencils, pens, paints, pastels, inks, or markers and a clean sheet of paper. The theme of this competition is Character Portrait. We are looking for either headshot or full body pieces of your Pathfinder Society characters.

As with past competitions, there are a few rules:

• You may only enter once
• Only the artist may submit their work
• Entries must be submitted to contest@paizo.com
• Include your portrait and a name for the character portrayed (NOTE: Images may be resized or cropped to better show off the artwork for voting. Any image format is acceptable!)
• Include your paizo.com username

Entries will be accepted until 12:00 PM Pacific time on June 3, 2016. We plan to open voting on Monday, June 6.

The rewards? Gift Certificates to paizo.com! Value will be determined based on the number of applicants.

Until next time—Explore, Report, Cooperate!

Tonya Woldridge
Organized Play Coordinator