I attended last year and had a blast. I do have a suggestion about the banquet though for 2010.
From where I sat, most tables at the banquet were at capacity, and it was at times very uncomfortable. Seats were pretty much touching corner to corner under the table, which means no leg room to speak of. We had a few at our table who ended up "facing out" from the table because it was so boxed in.
How about removing two seats per table?
And note to the two young ladies sitting next to me in 2009 - Im not a lech, it was the table seating ;-)
If I remove seats, I have to then also remove tickets. No can do.
If I remove seats, I have to then also remove tickets. No can do.
Hey Joshua,
I don't recall the other arrangements other than the bar (close to where I was sitting), but what about adding an additional table or two? That would keep seat count the same, reducing the max number of seats per table.
2010 is going to be at the same location as last year, right? I think you had the maximum amount of space available for the banquet - or was there yet a removable partition? Having the buffets themselves in the hall was a really good idea I thought.
I think you had the maximum amount of space available for the banquet -
Yep. We had their largest space with the maximum number of tables.
Or, possibly, Cosmo smells uncomfortably like two-year-old cheese.
Or, possibly, Cosmo smells uncomfortably like two-year-old cheese.
That explains the small but earnest group of hungry looking French people standing nearby.
I am certainly not going to form a seating chart. And, let's be honest here, you were actually your team. They were just along for the ride. :-)
I was going to ask "How can we insure the same teams don't form?"
Also, there were empty seats at our table also. Maybe Lynn is just a horndog and was laser focused on two nice looking gals ;)
Alas, I think my dogging days have passed into winter.
Wayfinder, PaizoCon Founder
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I am certainly not going to form a seating chart. And, let's be honest here, you were actually your team. They were just along for the ride. :-)I refuse to comment without my attorney present.
Liz and one other guy helped out too! But, ya, Yoda...you rocked.
My only real contribution was the team name. And I think the wave.
But, man, it was fun!
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I was going to ask "How can we insure the same teams don't form?"
Um...excuse me? The Bestmasters are forever bound together! Like with Geas. Or maybe more like an Astral Caravan. Maybe going"uh ok" when Greg Vaughn said, "Hey I'm casting a spell, voluntarily fail your save!" wasn't such a good idea. I don't know what we're bound together with now that I think about it. He *said* it was astral caravan. Did anyone cast detect alignment on him?
P.S. Yoda, Lillith, SKR, Tim and Razmiran etc...please don't bring a vorpal sword. I hear that's bad for astral travelers.
I was going to ask "How can we insure the same teams don't form?"
Spiked pit traps.
I was going to ask "How can we insure the same teams don't form?"Spiked pit traps.
*Nods solemnly*
Ah yes, the universal answer to all of life’s problems.
Spiked pit traps.
That won't phase our table. We've got trapmasters Vaughan and Kortes. And I've got a few levels in rogue, too. So, we'll find our way through...
GM fiat is a powerful tool.
I don't care who sits where, just PLEASE don't make me sit next to Cosmo...
Seated next to Cosmo. Check.
Seated next to Cosmo. Check.
I have a better idea. Why give Cosmo a seat and a table at all? Shouldn't he be the customer service guy who moves from table to table refilling everyone's cups? ;-)
I'll sit with Cosmo!
Director of Brand Strategy
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Are they Glorion specific, Paizo specific or anything goes?
They were mostly Golarion/Pathfinder Chronicles campaign setting questions, though a few were about members of the Paizo staff and even one about the site's only Bella Sara Charter Superscriber.
As a member of the winning Razmiran Faith Barge Union #107 team last year, I strongly urge all prospective contestants to brush up on their Golarion lore by participating in building the PathfinderWiki. Nothing helps you remember details like writing about them; that's why teachers assign so many essays.
Shouldn't he be the customer service guy who moves from table to table refilling everyone's cups? ;-)
Done! It's on the schedule.
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Hey my wife was wondering what kind of triva questions are part of the contest?
Are they Glorion specific, Paizo specific or anything goes?
Basically if you memorize the campaign setting and all the chronicles you might be able to follow it. If it's anything like lastyears it's really targeted at the canon geeks like Yoda (not geek in a bad way... you know). I felt totally worthless in it last year.
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Director of Brand Strategy
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Basically if you memorize the campaign setting and all the chronicles you might be able to follow it. If it's anything like lastyears it's really targeted at the canon geeks like Yoda (not geek in a bad way... you know). I felt totally worthless in it last year.Hey my wife was wondering what kind of triva questions are part of the contest?
Are they Glorion specific, Paizo specific or anything goes?
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practice makes perfectBasically if you memorize the campaign setting and all the chronicles you might be able to follow it. If it's anything like lastyears it's really targeted at the canon geeks like Yoda (not geek in a bad way... you know). I felt totally worthless in it last year.Hey my wife was wondering what kind of triva questions are part of the contest?
Are they Glorion specific, Paizo specific or anything goes?
Having a Golarion trivia contest with you and some of the other groups was akin to going on a golf tournament when 4 of the teams are loaded down with pros. After a certain point you wonder why you are even there.
I would note that half of the people at your table since have cover credit on at least a PFS scenario.
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Contributor, RPG Superstar 2010 Top 8
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practice makes perfectBasically if you memorize the campaign setting and all the chronicles you might be able to follow it. If it's anything like lastyears it's really targeted at the canon geeks like Yoda (not geek in a bad way... you know). I felt totally worthless in it last year.Hey my wife was wondering what kind of triva questions are part of the contest?
Are they Glorion specific, Paizo specific or anything goes?
Having a Golarion trivia contest with you and some of the other groups was akin to going on a golf tournament when 4 of the teams are loaded down with pros. After a certain point you wonder why you are even there.
I would note that half of the people at your table since have cover credit on at least a PFS scenario.
And this prompts us to rise to the challenge, yes?
And this prompts us to rise to the challenge, yes?practice makes perfectBasically if you memorize the campaign setting and all the chronicles you might be able to follow it. If it's anything like lastyears it's really targeted at the canon geeks like Yoda (not geek in a bad way... you know). I felt totally worthless in it last year.Hey my wife was wondering what kind of triva questions are part of the contest?
Are they Glorion specific, Paizo specific or anything goes?
Having a Golarion trivia contest with you and some of the other groups was akin to going on a golf tournament when 4 of the teams are loaded down with pros. After a certain point you wonder why you are even there.
I would note that half of the people at your table since have cover credit on at least a PFS scenario.
At some point this turned into pathetic complaining about my experiences at last year's banquet, but I'm just going to roll with it.
From my experience last year, I've pretty much given up on the trivia contest this year.
It was just so frustrating to know a third of the questions and watch other teams fly past, then get to sit around while they widen the gap (or struggle against them while they still widen the gap).
I'm pretty sure the trivia contest would have been completely more entertaining if I had given up at question one and just gave joke answers. Last year it would have produced the same result with none of the feelings that go along with losing horribly.
If I actually really wanted to win, I probably would study more, but the thing that I would have to do would be to sit at a table full of people that knew about the material. Last year I just sat down at a open table that didn't have any people that I knew because, in part, I wanted to meet new people. Because of this, there was no way I was going to be on the winning team for the trivia contest.
The banquet was pretty much the worst part of last year's PaizoCon for me. I decided to talk to people I didn't know and then I felt like I was punished several times for it. Empty Paizo staff and guest of honor seats at the table, then the trivia contest that my table had no chance of winning. I felt like I was on an outcast table Paizo didn't care about.
Which really sucked.
But, yeah, the trivia contest (for me) really does suck if you don't have a team with very knowledgeable people or you aren't trying to win.
I thought every table was supposed to have a Paizo staffer and at least one guest seated with the attendees? We had no Paizo staffer at our table, though...now that I think about it. Regardless, I think the banquet was one of the most fun experiences of the entire convention. To me, the entertaining thing about the trivia contest wasn't whether your table was "in the running" to win it all. It was all the hilarious joke answers that started coming in as soon as tables knew they weren't going to win...or when there was simply a question no one could answer and it became a creativity contest on who could make the room laugh the hardest.
Plus, that McFrosty emcee guy was pretty funny reading and commenting on the answers, too. It was like a comedy show and a trivia contest all rolled into one. I had a blast!
But that's just my two-cents,
--Neil
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Wayfinder, PaizoCon Founder
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As someone who sat at the winning table (ROW LIKE YOU BELIEVE!), I can say that going in to the Banquet, I had no idea where I was sitting, and only a vague idea of who I was sitting with. I knew I would be sitting with Liz and Yoda because we wanted to eat together and chat. We picked a table up closer to the front, so we would have a good view of the RPG preview.
I may be mis-remembering this, but we didn't even KNOW that there was going to be a trivia contest until MCFrosty told us right then and there. I seem to recall that I realized after the first few questions that I was EXTREMELY lucky to have joined Mark and Liz for dinner. ;-)
But this year, we KNOW there will be a trivia contest, and that makes this year quite different, to me. Because people are talking about sitting together for tactical advantage, not for the camaraderie.
While I would love to reassemble the RFBU#107 to defend our title, I am hoping that we have new and different teams. Otherwise, it's like the NFL...same teams, same dynasties, same teams at the top.
Still, getting the right answers was cool (thanks Mark and Liz!!) but, really, the entertainment was from Josh and Erik and all the WRONG answers. And from each table coming up with their own shtick.
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Director of Brand Strategy
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While I would love to reassemble the RFBU#107 to defend our title, I am hoping that we have new and different teams. Otherwise, it's like the NFL...same teams, same dynasties, same teams at the top.
Yeah, there are advantages to both. I would gladly row beside you once again, but I'm happy to meet new people and lead another team to victory this year. Either way, I want a RFBU#107 shirt.
I thought every table was supposed to have a Paizo staffer and at least one guest seated with the attendees?
I believe that was the plan--but the staffer wasn't allowed to participate in the trivia challenge, so it didn't affect the outcome.
I thought every table was supposed to have a Paizo staffer and at least one guest seated with the attendees?I believe that was the plan--but the staffer wasn't allowed to participate in the trivia challenge, so it didn't affect the outcome.
True. And I didn't mean to imply the Paizo staffer assisted their respective tables. Just that...it should have made the overall banquet more interesting for everyone.
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I thought every table was supposed to have a Paizo staffer and at least one guest seated with the attendees? We had no Paizo staffer at our table, though...now that I think about it. Regardless, I think the banquet was one of the most fun experiences of the entire convention. To me, the entertaining thing about the trivia contest wasn't whether your table was "in the running" to win it all. It was all the hilarious joke answers that started coming in as soon as tables knew they weren't going to win...or when there was simply a question no one could answer and it became a creativity contest on who could make the room laugh the hardest.
Plus, that McFrosty emcee guy was pretty funny reading and commenting on the answers, too. It was like a comedy show and a trivia contest all rolled into one. I had a blast!
But that's just my two-cents,
--Neil
I have to agree with you on the joke answers that rolled in Neil. The table I was at was shooting for not finishing last after the first round. When we knew an answer it was cool, when we didn't we came up something off the cuff. Definitely entertaining and a lot of fun ... I just wished it had been taped!
And always remember, it's Erik with a K. ;)
Two tiers of questions this year: softballs for everyone but Mark, the hardest questions I can think of for Mark. Who has to sit at his own table. In the hallway. At the airport.
Then we'll see who wins.
Can Mark create a Pathfinder trivia question so hard that he couldn't answer it?
Can Mark create a Pathfinder trivia question so hard that he couldn't answer it?
Yeah, but why would he want to?
I will get you on a few questions, Mark, I guarantee it.
We didn't get 100% right last year, you know. We just got more than everyone else.
Yes. But you also had to go into sudden-death overtime against two other teams to do it. ;-)
And that was cool as well, actually. The competitiveness was still there the whole way through. So, it wasn't like a single table completely ran away with it.
So, I just finally got my hands on the Pathfinder Chronicles Campaign Setting, and am in the process of devouring it.
The Wiki is also quite handy, but are there any other key or critical sources that I should be all over prior to this awesome event?