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Call for Organizing Committee Volunteers

Thursday, December 16, 2021

Greetings, friends! It's that time of year again where we begin to assemble our organizing committees for our major conventions!

Now, we haven't done this in at least a year, if not longer, so let's talk about what that means. For our major shows (such as PaizoCon and Gen Con), we have a volunteer organizing committee that runs our organized play space. This group works closely with me, as the Organized Play Coordinator, to determine the schedule, recruit GMs, and get them everything they need to make the show a success!

Obviously, there's a lot about 2022 that's up in the air. If we've learned anything from the past two years, it's that we can't predict the future. However, I want to share what our current plans are, with the understanding that they may change significantly.

We are currently investigating running our major shows as hybrid shows. This would mean that we would have both a physical presence at the event as well as online offerings, featuring the same scenarios that are premiering at the physical shows. As a result, we're looking for applicants who have the ability to assist with both physical and online events. Safety requirements and all those sorts of things will be announced well in advance of physical shows, we're not ready to talk about those yet, but rest assured that Organized Play will be following the latest CDC Guidelines as well as the show's safety policies to keep attendees safe.

Below is some specific information about the shows we're currently looking to form committees for: PaizoCon 2022, Gen Con 2022 and PaizoCon Europe 2022. There may be additional shows added to the major convention schedule next year (such as PAX Unplugged), and if we add more, we'll do a similar call for committee members. There are some positions we know we're looking for, but we're also seeking general interest for all our shows; let us know if you're interested and what skills you bring to the table!

Please note that joining a committee is a significant commitment; there is a lot of preparation work to do to get ready for a show, and especially coming out of two years of not having physical shows, we'll be doing a lot of rebuilding to figure out our new processes. Committee members are compensated with convention rewards as if they had GMed the maximum number of slots at the convention. Additionally, committee members who are not already Venture Officers are granted benefits for the year at the VL or VC level, depending on their position. Note that anybody is free to apply for a committee; we welcome those who are not already Venture Officers!

PaizoCon 2022

Date: Memorial Day Weekend 2022
Location: Seattle, WA
Needed Positions: Online Department Head, Onsite Department Head, Overnight Online HQ Department Head

Gen Con 2022

Date: August 4-7, 2022
Location:Indianapolis, IN
Needed Positions: Academy/Kids' Track Trainee

PaizoCon Europe 2022

Date and Location: TBD
Needed Positions: General Interest

If you are interested in serving on a committee, please fill out the Google Form below. Information will be shared only with Paizo staff and the current committees. If you are interested in GMing or serving as an HQ staffer, this is not the form for you. We will begin soliciting GMs and HQ staff once the committees are in place. Applications will close on January 7, 2022.

Major Convention Committee Application Form

Thank you all for your interest! Until next time—Explore! Report! Cooperate! And enjoy the holiday season!

Alex Speidel
Organized Play Coordinator

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Tags: Conventions Organized Play Pathfinder Second Edition Pathfinder Society Starfinder Roleplaying Game Starfinder Society
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1/5 5/55/5 **
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This message fills me with hope. Thank you.
1/5 5/5
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Pathfinder Lost Omens Subscriber

The hybrid format, while potentially technically complex, seems like an idea that should have been developed years ago for most major conventions and not just Organized Play Foundation or Paizo, imo.

That there will be an effort to sustain this in the future likewise gives me hope... and eases some potential pain for the wallet.

Thank you.
Silver Crusade
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Great to hear many of us can still attend PaizoCon remotely!
The Exchange 4/5 5/5
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Maybe it's just my tired brain, but I'm having trouble parsing the Needed Positions, particularly when it comes to "Department Head". Is this a general call for multiple positions in multiple departments, each of which will have the "Department Head" title or are these the exact position names? Is the Online Department Head in charge of the whole online side of things?

Spoiler:
The existence of an Overnight Online HQ Department Head strongly implies the existence of a Daytime Online HQ Department Head, which in turn implies that Online will have multiple department heads.

Just want to make sure no one bites off way, way more than they can chew.
Shadow Lodge 4/5 5/55/55/55/5 ***** Contributor
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Quote:

PaizoCon 2022

Date: Memorial Day Weekend 2022
Location: Seattle, WA
Needed Positions: Online Department Head, Onsite Department Head, Overnight Online HQ Department Head

Hello! PaizoCon 2022 committee online chairperson here with a few clarifications:

1 - These three positions should all have "HQ" in their names.
2 - These positions are organizing committee positions as well. The three organizing committee chairs (Ivis Flanagan - Coordinating Chair, David Peever - In-Person Chair, and Mike Bramnik - Online Chair) will work with the rest of the committee to focus on each area represented by the department heads. Unlike other volunteers, committee members have planning and reporting duties before and after the actual event.
3 - We want to make sure that the scope of our other committee members' responsibilities are reflected in their titles.

Hope that helps, and thank you in advance to everyone thinking about applying!
By the by, great comments and questions so far!
Advocates 3/5 5/55/5 Venture-Lieutenant, Conventions—PaizoCon
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Wei Ji the Learner wrote:


The hybrid format, while potentially technically complex, seems like an idea that should have been developed years ago for most major conventions and not just Organized Play Foundation or Paizo, imo.

That there will be an effort to sustain this in the future likewise gives me hope... and eases some potential pain for the wallet.

Thank you.

Big time agree.

Speaking as someone on a FAR AWAY continent, it's nice to be able to play and make friends in other spaces (as well as get the benefits of con attendence, con GMing and equal access to boons now).

I don't mind too much at getting up at 4am AEST time to play specials, particularly on a premier. It's better than waiting for months to be able to play it if you can get enough tables together physically. It's made a lot harder with physical disabilities and chronic illnesses.

But with online options, I can play with friends (sometimes even at the same table).

I am curious as to what the role of “Academy/Kids' Track Trainee“ looks like and what they do if anyone happens to know! :)
Horizon Hunters 4/5 5/5 ***
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So, I went to fill out this form for Gen Con, but all of the Department Head slots are filled. Was there an earlier call for those volunteers?
Paizo Employee 5/55/5 ** Organized Play Coordinator
Mark Stratton wrote:
So, I went to fill out this form for Gen Con, but all of the Department Head slots are filled. Was there an earlier call for those volunteers?

Our convention organizing committees carry over between years, and in Gen Con's case most of the positions were filled in previous years. We're still taking applications for general interest in the event that a department head elects to drop or otherwise reduce their commitment.

Horizon Hunters 4/5 5/5 ***

Appreciate the clarification, Alex. Thanks.
Grand Lodge 4/5 5/55/5 ***
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Now that Gen Con badges are on sale and the hotel lottery is in two weeks, any more word on the status of org play at the convention?
3/5

Any Updates? I'm very curious.

Concerns and Thoughts . . .

Are there any changes planned for rooming four unrelated people in one small hotel room? I think it should be one person or related couple per bed, at most. Max two people better. My perspective: I was down for a week after Origins 2019 with the flu after utilizing a Pathfinder/Starfinder room for four volunteer GMs.

Is per slot 'thank you' set at $10? Prices on all Paizo products have risen significantly in the past 15 years. Core books are now $15 (up from $10) for the PDF.
Grand Lodge 4/5 5/55/5 ***
Swiftbrook wrote:
...it should be one person or related couple per bed, at most. Max two people better.

Wishful thinking. Doing that would require twice as many rooms in order to allocate enough space to meet the volunteer need. Since there are already not enough rooms to go around, I doubt Gen Con will increase Paizo's allotment by 50% or more to accommodate two per room, especially when volunteering directly for the convention is still four per room.

Given the state of affairs with how they have allocated LGBTQ+ staff to rooms, I am interested to see how that will affect org play assignments.
5/5 5/55/55/5

I can attest the floors with extra blankets are pretty comfy, at least for the three seconds you're conscious after lying down between sessions.

Given covid I'd make that a plan rather than an exception, but you'd have to ask "are you willing/able to sleep on the floor" as part of the volunteer question.
Paizo Employee 5/55/5 ** Organized Play Coordinator
1 person marked this as a favorite.

here I got you some Gen Con info
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