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So who is interested in PaizoCon UK at Aston University, Birmingham on 11th/12th July?
I would definately be interested in this and I know a friend you likewise would probably be up for it. I live in Wolverhampton so would probably commute in for a day, maybe two, so please ensure day passes are available :)
Just beware that, according to Darran's list of UK Events, this is directly conflicting with:
AmberCon UK '09.
Harben House, Newport Pagnell, Buckinghamshire, UK.
Friday 10th - Sunday 12th July 2009
http://www.ambercon.org.uk/
Yog-Sothoth.CON 2009.
University of Bradford, Students' Union, Bradford, UK.
Friday 10th - Sunday 12th July 2009
http://yog-sothoth.com/
...and is closely followed by...
Constitution 2009.
New Hall, Cambridge, UK.
Friday 31st July - Sunday 2nd August 2009.
http://www.constitution-con.org.uk/
It should be noted also that GenCon UK will not be going ahead this year IIRC, Horsemen have lost the licence and IMHO its too late for anyone else to get a convention the size of GenCon UK ready for 2009 - most people are saying to whoever my create a con to replace it to concentrate on 2010. With that in mind, late August / early September might be a nice slot to fit into.
Cheers!
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Yog-Sothoth Con seem to be uncertain if their 2009 event will go ahead looking at posts upto the 4th March on this page, as the venue they were expecting to use seems to be set for demolition in May.
That will leave just AmberCon directly clashing - but I haven't seen anyone mention on this thread yet that that would be a problem for them.
I've only had one person mention the clash with AmberCon to me so I think there isn't much overlap in potential attendees for these cons. So the date seems to be a good one for most people and for Aston Uni so I'll stick with that. I'll be in touch with Aston again soon to get some questions answered so more info coming soon.
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I've only had one person mention the clash with AmberCon to me so I think there isn't much overlap in potential attendees for these cons. So the date seems to be a good one for most people and for Aston Uni so I'll stick with that. I'll be in touch with Aston again soon to get some questions answered so more info coming soon.
Looks Good, I might make an apperance with the Black Raven
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Looks Good, I might make an apperance with the Black Raven
I've only had one person mention the clash with AmberCon to me so I think there isn't much overlap in potential attendees for these cons. So the date seems to be a good one for most people and for Aston Uni so I'll stick with that. I'll be in touch with Aston again soon to get some questions answered so more info coming soon.
Francois! You have to come along. We can quest for Taldor once again! (And maybe have a curry or something later)
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Wayfinder, PaizoCon Founder
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Sounds good. I have just set up a paizocon uk yahoo group that I thought could be useful.I know that PaizoCon organisers last year liaised regularly in the Paizo Chatroom, and I have emailed Lilith to inquire if we could use it as a venue for any necessary discussions?
Our Meetup page worked pretty well for most everything. Does the UK have a British version of Meetup? Or would you just use...well, Meetup?
Make sure if you do, to just make a PaizoConUK meetup. The Paizo Fan Meetup's organizer is strangely absent and non-responsive to requests, which makes it impossible to update or change in any major way.
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Sounds good. I have just set up a paizocon uk yahoo group that I thought could be useful.I know that PaizoCon organisers last year liaised regularly in the Paizo Chatroom, and I have emailed Lilith to inquire if we could use it as a venue for any necessary discussions?
Our Meetup page worked pretty well for most everything. Does the UK have a British version of Meetup? Or would you just use...well, Meetup?
Make sure if you do, to just make a PaizoConUK meetup. The Paizo Fan Meetup's organizer is strangely absent and non-responsive to requests, which makes it impossible to update or change in any major way.
meet up works for uk too... but dont you have to pay?
facebook groups are better anyway
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Wayfinder, PaizoCon Founder
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meet up works for uk too... but dont you have to pay?facebook groups are better anyway
No paying for using it...but I liked it because it had an RSVP function and a link to use Paypal to accept payments for tickets/membership dues. You just need to make sure that your organizer doesn't go missing halfway through the process.
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No paying for using it...but I liked it because it had an RSVP function and a link to use Paypal to accept payments for tickets/membership dues. You just need to make sure that your organizer doesn't go missing halfway through the process.
meet up works for uk too... but dont you have to pay?facebook groups are better anyway
I'll look into it. And no fear I'm going to disappear. I've got enough people asking about PaizoCon UK that I absolutely have to go through with it. Once I've finalised the venue I'll have to start getting some of those people who said they would help to pitch in as I think there's too much to do for just one person!
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Is this event definately on? Has anything been booked and are the dates set. If so you can count my group in as attending. I am a massive advocate of what Paizo have done with Pathfinder so any way of promoting it i'm all for.
As one of my gaming group has already mentioned (Digitalmage)i hope you are being flexible in the passes that you will be offering. Our group only lives about 30 minutes from Birmingham so it's ideal for our group to get to without having to book a stay in any accomodation. That doesn't mean that some of us won't however.
Some of my group have had experience in running some small cons in the past (Oddcon) so any help we can offer let either Digitalmage or myself know.
I gotta admit i'm pretty buzzed about this thing i hope it happens. Did you get any confirmed guests to agree to attending in the end?
So who is interested in PaizoCon UK at Aston University, Birmingham on 11th/12th July?
Dang. I'm in Paris on holiday that week.
First time out of the country in 5 years...(ps. If the date is shifted, I'd be up for attending a venue in London or Brum)
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Is this event definately on? Has anything been booked and are the dates set. If so you can count my group in as attending. I am a massive advocate of what Paizo have done with Pathfinder so any way of promoting it i'm all for.
As one of my gaming group has already mentioned (Digitalmage)i hope you are being flexible in the passes that you will be offering. Our group only lives about 30 minutes from Birmingham so it's ideal for our group to get to without having to book a stay in any accomodation. That doesn't mean that some of us won't however.
Some of my group have had experience in running some small cons in the past (Oddcon) so any help we can offer let either Digitalmage or myself know.
I gotta admit i'm pretty buzzed about this thing i hope it happens. Did you get any confirmed guests to agree to attending in the end?
I will sort out the final booking by the end of this week so venue and dates will be set then. I intend to be as flexible as possible to ensure as many people attend as are interested. Once the venue is booked I will start approaching potential guests and will be asking for help and advice from those posting on this thread.
Any assistance I can offer around my wacky shift pattern you are welcome to! Actually, in spite of gaming for about thirty years, this will be the first time I have ever been to a convention ....
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Any assistance I can offer around my wacky shift pattern you are welcome to! Actually, in spite of gaming for about thirty years, this will be the first time I have ever been to a convention ....
Thanks.
This is the first time I've ever tried to set up and run a convention but hopefully I can make it work without making too many mistakes!|
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I'd like to vote Wintergreen a big vote of thanks for doing this. I'm an almost definate (only almost because I haven't asked my wife yet, but I live maybe one hour away by car from Aston and I'm sure she'll be fine with it). I'll see if I can rope in some of my players who live in the vicinity. And this will be my first Con.
Woot! Yay Wintergreen! If you need any organizational advice, don't be afraid to ask.
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Thanks, but I will say hold off on the thanks until the event actually happens. I'm sure I'll be asking for organising advice very soon. [Can I get a cookie with that?]
In the meantime, I've sorted out a venue and dates so that we are now at the stage where money needs to change hands.
Details:
PaizoCon UK
Saturday 11th July 2009 and Sunday 12th July 2009
Aston Business School Conference Centre, Aston University, Birmingham, England, UK.
I've booked one room that can hold 5 tables. I'm currently planning for 30 players + 5 GMs so that's 5 tables. We would have 5 gaming slots of 4 hours each (3 on the Saturday, 2 on the Sunday) and each table would be running the same scenario. (I'd organise the tables by tier so would need character level information from players).
If I get more than that number willing to pay then we can pay for an additional room of the same size.
As the room costs £350 per day the total cost is £700.
Assuming 30 players (and that the GMs are there for free) the tickets would be:
For two days gaming = £23.50
For one day gaming = £12
The university offers accommodation and will be sending me information on how individuals can book that.
The centre has a restaurant, snack bar and bar that all serve hot food and snacks.
I'll start asking if there are any traders who would be interested in attending, make some approaches towards potential guests and see if Paizo can offer any support from across the Atlantic but can't assume anything at present.
I'm open to suggestions for any additional activities and would welcome any volunteer GMs and/or gophers.
I have created a yahoo group and paizoconuk email that I will release details of very soon.
Any questions/suggestions?
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Have you thought about contacting local groups/individuals within the area for assitance. For example the Black country roleplay soceity and some one else mentioned Steve Turner, the author fo Chivalry and Sorcery.
If you search for the club you can find them easy enough, as for steve I may be able to chase him down through some contacts I have in the area
Good luck with the Venture and, Diary permitting, I'll see you all there
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That's the focus of it, yes.Is the intent for the Con to be soley Pathfinder Society Organised Play?
Any questions/suggestions?
I'm not currently involved in organised play and not sure how tricky it would be with people bringing characters that have played in different numbers of modules, and are at character levels for different tiers; I have a feeling that you'll need a lot of organisation/co-ordination for it to work, if you're aiming to be official.
That part I'm pretty confident about. It's all was pretty straightforward at Conception this year.
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Regarding the slots, are you planning for these times?
Saturday:
9-1
2-6
7-11
Sunday:
10-2
3-7
Similar to the times at Conception. I ask because if we are starting at 9 on Saturday, it's problematic to get to Aston in time. I mean, I was going to arrive on Friday night, but I can imagine a 9 start being an issue for some others.
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Regarding the slots, are you planning for these times?
Saturday:
9-1
2-6
7-11Sunday:
10-2
3-7Similar to the times at Conception. I ask because if we are starting at 9 on Saturday, it's problematic to get to Aston in time. I mean, I was going to arrive on Friday night, but I can imagine a 9 start being an issue for some others.
I was thinking of those times, so that we can get 3 4-hour slots in one day. (I think leaving later causes more problems than getting somewhere early.)
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HMMM..organised play only might pose a problem..I havent created a PFS character yet(no point with being the only member for at least 100 miles) and Dabbler isn't, as far as I know, even a member of the PFS yet(I mention him as I'll be staying at his place over the weekend)
Nothing we can't fix easily though...
This is true - but as Wellard says it can be remedied. I'm willing to play or DM as required, too. Now I'll be really dense and ask "what's PFS?" :D
On the plus side, I'm prepared to strain my car's suspension and pile in every D&D book I own ... although maybe it would be easier to bring them on my laptop on PDF ...
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This is true - but as Wellard says it can be remedied. I'm willing to play or DM as required, too. Now I'll be really dense and ask "what's PFS?" :D
On the plus side, I'm prepared to strain my car's suspension and pile in every D&D book I own ... although maybe it would be easier to bring them on my laptop on PDF ...
PFS=Pathfinder Society.
Paizo's organised play division, with downloadable modules from the store.
Thanks for answering Charles.
Dabbler and Wellard: I'd hope that PaizoCon UK encourages more people to take part in Pathfinder Society games and certainly it is very easy to start participating. Truth is that they are also the easiest elements for me to provide at the Con as I have run such games at conventions before whereas I've never run a whole Con and I don't personally know any potential guests, etc.|
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If there's only two sessions on Saturday, say 10-2 & 3-7 (or even 11-3 & 4-7) this allows a bit more for early starters/those travelling from a long way, plus allows for a more social evening, say, a curry or whatever. Just bouncing an idea!
But the cost of the room is the same so I would have to charge the same entrance fee. So I want to make sure that people get the most 'bang for their buck' in terms of games they can play. But I'm open to persuasion.
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Sounds good.
A few thoughts ...
Staggered slot starts -- not everything needs to start at the same time, if there are 5 tables then why not go for something like:
slot 1 -- 3 tables -- 0900-1300
slot 1.5 -- 2 tables -- 1100-1500
slot 2 -- 3 table -- 1400-1800
slot 2.5 -- 2 tables -- 1600-2000
slot 3 -- 3 tables -- 1900-2300
Sunday -- why not have a default start time of 9am rather than 10am; more people will be available for 9am Sunday than 9am Saturday after all.
Newbies -- providing new-comers with ready-to-run characters shouldn't be a problem (particularly if I (finally) get round to finishing my character-generator spreadsheet), and there'll still be plenty of low-level play so 1st level characters shouldn't have a problem finding a game.
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Hi
Weekend in July at Aston Uni, sounds good........... :)
Is this Paizo product, or continuing the Pathfinder Society Living campaign? (Just 3.5 core PHB/DMG/MM1).
Lastly, what happens in August? Do we convert our Living campaign chars across to the new Pathfinder rules, or does a new campign start then?
Cheers
Paul H
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I am willing to GM some scenarios, though cannot commit to both days yet (I need to check my availability). I would like to actually play a scenario as well if possible :)
I have run PFS previously at IndieCon (Silent Tide) and Conception (Slave Pits of Absalom, Eye of the Crocodile King & The Third Riddle) and have just started running PFS games as part of the West Midlands D&D Meetup Group.
Also I have created some pregen characters that can be tweaked for each player (choosing faction etc). They are available here.
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Sounds good.
A few thoughts ...
Staggered slot starts --
Sunday -- why not have a default start time of 9am rather than 10am;
Newbies -- providing new-comers with ready-to-run characters shouldn't be a problem (particularly if I (finally) get round to finishing my character-generator spreadsheet), and there'll still be plenty of low-level play so 1st level characters shouldn't have a problem finding a game.
Staggered slots makes things more complicated for organising games and allowing people to play games run by different GMs I think.
Sunday start time could be 9am. Not sure if people would appreciate a little longer in bed though...
I'd certainly want to make sure there are plenty of ready to run characters for 'newbies' to PFS. Organising the slots by tier is more to cater for any higher level players.
Paul H: This will be the final month of year 0 for Pathfinder Society so still using core 3.5 rules. It sounds like there will be some conversion of characters when we get to year 1 in August but that is outside of this Con.
Digital Mage: Would be great to have you along, and I'm sure you'll get a chance to play. I think I actually handed out some of your pre-gens at Conception. Very useful.
There are many definitions of 'Core' - which one are we using? Will different DM's have their own versions of 'Core'?
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There are many definitions of 'Core' - which one are we using? Will different DM's have their own versions of 'Core'?
Sorry that's not clear. Until the changeover to Pathfinder in August, Pathfinder Society Organised Play is using the D&D 3.5 SRD so it is Player's Handbook, DM Guide, Monster Manual 1 essentially with no house rules, etc.
You can download the Guide to Organised Play for free here which should answer your questions about PFS.|
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But we need the dates and venue official, then we can find out which of these busy people are able and willing to attend, or if guests from further afield (Germany? Prague? Seattle?) may also be willing and able to uhh, 'holiday' in the UK at the same time as PaizoCon UK is on.
Just received the contract so I will be sending off that and the deposit asap so it is official, 11th and 12th July 2009 at Aston Business School Conference Centre, Aston University in Birmingham.
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Wintergreen, this website might be useful to you:
http://www.ukroleplayers.com/
IIRC, you can send PMs to up to 50 people at a time, and I'm sure you could easily get a sub-forum for PaizoconUK, too.
Thanks. I'll be contacting a couple of different forums about announcing this and ukroleplayers will be top of the list.