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Just got back from a five days of PFS madness at Origins 2010 (with only a one day break after PaizoCon!). I had a great time!
I, and many others, owe my great Origins weekend primarily to the tireless efforts of everybody's favorite 5 star GM: Doug Doug. He single-handedly organized the PFS presence at the Con and he did an amazing job. The events went off without a hitch, players were very happy, and many new players were turned on to participating in more PFS games. It was clear that Doug spent a great deal of time, energy, and money in making this event a great success. Cold drinks for the GMs, an electric pencil sharpener at the ready, color laser printer, ALL the PFS scenarios printed out with extra chronicles, extra pens and pencils in cups at the organizer's table, and, of course, his famous maps. All this while he GM'd in every slot (and extras I think). Doug went WAY beyond the call of duty and I would like to send a big THANK YOU out to him. I invite others who had a good time at Origins to do the same. Thanks for everything Doug!
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I had a great time playing PFS at Origins. Wonderful DMs, great organization, and most of all lots of fun.
Played in one of the most hilarious games in a very long time at a table of 7 which included 5 half-orcs and a very creative DM whose name escapes me at the moment, but she knows who she is.
I did learn that when you are sitting on top of an unconscious female half-orc barbarian giving her a potion of healing and she wakes up and decides to give you a kiss, watch out for the tusks.
Great job from all the organizers and DMs. Thank You.
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I had a great time playing PFS at Origins. Wonderful DMs, great organization, and most of all lots of fun.
Played in one of the most hilarious games in a very long time at a table of 7 which included 5 half-orcs and a very creative DM whose name escapes me at the moment, but she knows who she is.
I did learn that when you are sitting on top of an unconscious female half-orc barbarian giving her a potion of healing and she wakes up and decides to give you a kiss, watch out for the tusks.
Great job from all the organizers and DMs. Thank You.
I played the half-orc Inquisitor sitting beside you at that table. :) I haven't laughed that much in a long time! I think the DM's name was Theresa. She did a great job. It was just a great group. Excellent roleplay and epic combat.
I'll second the compliments directed at Doug and the other DM's. Doug was superb at organizing every slot and the DM's were fantasic. They represented Paizo in spectacular fashion.
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Great job, Doug. Very well organized, and we GM's felt very appreciated. I'm sure that you created many new PFS converts.
Folks: Dougdoug organized, mustered, and GM'ed 10 PFS slots... and then took the time on Sunday before departing to run one more for a few players who didnt get into the one scenario they really wanted.
Great con: I GM'ed 5 PFS Scenarios, played 2 more, and still had time for a couple of minis games, some shopping, and thrashed the RPGA delve. And got in a board game at the airport. Awesome!
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I owe everything to the GMs who volunteered to bring Pathfinder Society to Origins. They were tireless and good-natured in the face of a very demanding schedule. I especially owe a debt of gratitude to my Open Classic GMs who never even knew what they would be running until the players were seated, yet tackled their assignments with gusto. PFS would have been up the creek if it wasn't for my GMs who were ready to make the sacrifice in order to accommodate the players. We had several slots that overflowed and I handled things smoothly because my GMs had a "can-do" attitude. "Whatever you need Doug, just tell me where you need me" was the theme of the muster. Make no mistake, it wasn't easy since I had shorted myself a GM in each slot--that was my fault. But everyone pitched in and I don't think the players ever knew how close to the edge we came. I think my background as a paramedic helped me to hide the panic that I felt inside and appear to be calm and organized. Nobody was turned away for lack of space at a table, and I think we only had to run three or four 7-player tables out of the 10 slots of the convention.
I would like to recognize the volunteer GMs here on the boards.
Kyle Baird
Derek Boobyer
Robert Jonquet
Roger Kernsmith
Jonathan McAnulty
Wes Nicholson (Open Classic GM)
Thea Peters (Open Classic GM)
Neil Shackleton
Allen Taliesin
I thank you all from the bottom of my heart!
I also want to recognize the other organizers out there, who work on big conventions and small ones. I feel self-conscious because of the praise I've been getting lately. One of my favorite comedians is Chris Rock. I love his riff about people who take credit for things they are supposed to do. I don't think that I did anything beyond what an organizer is supposed to do. The credit lays with the GMs who offered up their time at the convention to give back to the game.
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Mo - no worries what so ever.. if you remember that you had a blast my name doesn't matter until next year when you're looking for me lol.
Scribbling -- I have to agree 100% I fed of the energy from the other GMs and the players and as a pick up GM felt very welcome.
Have to say to Doug -- thanks bunches for not censoring me all week but encouraging me and letting me go with whatever happened.
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I, and many others, owe my great Origins weekend primarily to the tireless efforts of everybody's favorite 5 star GM: Doug Doug.
+1, and the maps were awesome!! The most fun I've had at a con in years and I only played in one of the ten slotted events! (Thanks to Doug for running a slot zero on Wednesday night)
As one of Doug's minions, I can say that the players, at my many tables, made my job easier and so much more fun. Everyone was immersed in the story and eagerly took to the RP'ing, which can be a challenge in timed, OP-style play. My tables usually took the longest (sorry) because I tried to let the players drive the pace rather than push them through the mod. The five-hour slot time seemed to be a surprise to many, but turned out to be a great opportunity for more role-playing, which has been a complaint posted by some players. I heard alot of excited discussions, post-play, about the encounters which tells me this was a memorable con for many. Everyone loved Miss Feathers from #51/52. The classic-play concept was great and I look forward to that opportunity at GenCon. Made some new friends and put some faces to names from the boards (although it would be nice to add sceen names under the real ones on the badges). Thanks to Doug, my fellow GM's, and expecially the players who, for me, put the "awe" in awesome.
RPG Superstar 2009 Top 32, 2010 Top 8
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Unoffical weekend stats:
66 tables run without a single player being turned away.
46 new Pathfinder ID #'s given out.
14 total hours of sleep.
10 crazy GM's.
1 amazing coordinator.
were you all able to point the new folks to vendors who had Pathfinder books for sale?
I've heard from reports that Catalyst (who was actually at the con) had several new people interested in Battletech, only to be told that the introduction set was OOP and they didn't have any at the Con. *rolls eyes*
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were you all able to point the new folks to vendors who had Pathfinder books for sale?
Most of the n00bs I spoke to, wanted to play a bit before investing and would order from the website later. A couple said they prefered the pdf version and would be going that route. I think I saw a few core rulebooks on the shelves of the independent book retailers on Thursday, but I did not hear any grumblings about wanting a book and not finding it.
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I was disappointed though understanding why Paizo did not have a presence at Origins, having just completed PaizoCon. Origins has been growing smaller every year, and it just pains me when major game companies no longer have booths there. WOTC pulling out three years ago was a major blow. I can tell you a lot of Pathfinder books would have been sold had Paizo even a single booth there.
At least we had a great series of Society events!
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RPG Superstar 2009 Top 32, 2010 Top 8
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were you all able to point the new folks to vendors who had Pathfinder books for sale?Most of the n00bs I spoke to, wanted to play a bit before investing and would order from the website later. A couple said they prefered the pdf version and would be going that route. I think I saw a few core rulebooks on the shelves of the independent book retailers on Thursday, but I did not hear any grumblings about wanting a book and not finding it.
Good, as much as I love battletech, there are times when I think Catalyst needs to take skill focus (business management).
Chief Creative Officer, Publisher
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I was disappointed though understanding why Paizo did not have a presence at Origins, having just completed PaizoCon. Origins has been growing smaller every year, and it just pains me when major game companies no longer have booths there. WOTC pulling out three years ago was a major blow. I can tell you a lot of Pathfinder books would have been sold had Paizo even a single booth there.
At least we had a great series of Society events!
I've heard they are considering moving the date of the show to get it out of the shadow of Gen Con.
If that's true, it's probably the most important step they could possibly take to get us to reconsider coming back, so I welcome those rumors with a smile.
Here's hoping it happens. Because the trend insofar as sales and attendance is concerned has not been encouraging.
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I was disappointed though understanding why Paizo did not have a presence at Origins, having just completed PaizoCon. Origins has been growing smaller every year, and it just pains me when major game companies no longer have booths there. WOTC pulling out three years ago was a major blow. I can tell you a lot of Pathfinder books would have been sold had Paizo even a single booth there.
At least we had a great series of Society events!
I've heard they are considering moving the date of the show to get it out of the shadow of Gen Con.
If that's true, it's probably the most important step they could possibly take to get us to reconsider coming back, so I welcome those rumors with a smile.
Here's hoping it happens. Because the trend insofar as sales and attendance is concerned has not been encouraging.
You know, this is why I think Piazo rocks so damn much. On a random thread talking about a living campaign discussion at a convention, the big-time publisher of Pathfinder and one of the most recognized names in the fantasy rpg industry popped in to comment and talk straight about a generalized concern.
Wizards who? ;)
Kudos to all of you!!
What is the story on the maps in the pics? They look fantastic.
Best.
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I've heard they are considering moving the date of the show to get it out of the shadow of Gen Con.
If that's true, it's probably the most important step they could possibly take to get us to reconsider coming back, so I welcome those rumors with a smile.
Here's hoping it happens. Because the trend insofar as sales and attendance is concerned has not been encouraging.
Erik, with Gen Con moving to Indy do you think it was a combination of time and location that drew support/attendance from Origins? Missouri is a bit further away from Columbus than we are in Indy.
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Kudos to all of you!!
What is the story on the maps in the pics? They look fantastic.
Best.
Doug Doug drew all the maps .. they are wonderful to work with as they match the mods so well.
Truely a few of the maps pictured are mine, but you see some of Kyle's and Roger's (emusocprof) work in there as well. Kyle spent some serious $$$ getting several scenario maps printed in color and laminated. He has some GM stars in his crosshairs. I think that Roger has the best maps I've seen, going so far as to draw the woodgrain on the tables and chairs. I'll claim credit for inspiring him though...
Those pictures make a proud campaign papa even more proud.
Well done, everyone. :-)
A room full of people and everyone is smiling--that's the sign of a well-run event.
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Chief Creative Officer, Publisher
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Erik, with Gen Con moving to Indy do you think it was a combination of time and location that drew support/attendance from Origins? Missouri is a bit further away from Columbus than we are in Indy.I've heard they are considering moving the date of the show to get it out of the shadow of Gen Con.
If that's true, it's probably the most important step they could possibly take to get us to reconsider coming back, so I welcome those rumors with a smile.
Here's hoping it happens. Because the trend insofar as sales and attendance is concerned has not been encouraging.
I think that played a significant role. I think Ohio's depressed economy and institutional inertia/incompetence also played a significant role, as well. The year I finally gave up on the convention they ran the Origins Awards in the hallway and the statues were handed out by fat stormtroopers and someone's poor daughter dressed like a belly dancer.
Oof.
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You'll notice there's no pictures of me in there. Doug was kind enough to give me a couple of breather slots which I took advantage of to take pictures.
Doug, there's only one star in my eyes, and that's you! :P
Yes, ONE of those maps I spent $$ on, but that was only because I was trapped in Seattle when the mod was released (ran it at Paizo Con). Additionally, the map of the Sothis Lodge was so well detailed, that there was no way I could have drawn anything close. More mods with maps like that would be welcomed with open arms! The rest of my collection is either self printed or, my preference, drawn by hand.
It's true that Doug was the inspiration to drawing better maps. So much so that my wife refuses to game with anything else.
Roger and I have taken on the challenge of drawing maps, which I think has also pushed Doug to up his game too. It's a great thing to have 3 GM's in the area who like to spend time on a great presentation (maps, hand-outs, minis, etc). And I agree with Doug, Roger's maps are truely amazing (grrr...)
*Here's hoping I get to run the Everwar Series at Gen Con* *poke* *poke*
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Regarding PFRPG products, Doug and I heard the exact opposite as above. We were constantly barraged by questions on where they could buy this stuff and were told on many occasions they couldn't find any of it in the dealer's hall.
Doug even sold a handful of his personal PFS t-shirts... after word spread of several higher level characters dying at the con. >:)
I remember at least three occasions were people expressed disappointment with Paizo for not representing. There were probably more, but the weekend is still a blur.
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I saw one Pathfinder GM's screen for sale at Origin's and the dealer said his Paizo shipment got in late to his store so he had nothing else. I also found some of the old Gamemaster miniature/module kits on Sunday. And of course Reaper had their booth with Pathfinder minis. But other than that, Paizo products were not to be found.
I heard nothing bad about Pathfinder, it was all good from everyone who knew much about it. The "Pathfinder Society" printed on my GMs badge was enough to make several people stop and say something positive about the system.
Attendance was lower this year, in part, I think, because of the registration mess,but the con was fun and the Society games, I thought, were as well attended as any of the RPG rooms I glanced in, excepting maybe the Arcanis games which were being run by The Gathering.
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I think that played a significant role. I think Ohio's depressed economy and institutional inertia/incompetence also played a significant role, as well. The year I finally gave up on the convention they ran the Origins Awards in the hallway and the statues were handed out by fat stormtroopers and someone's poor daughter dressed like a belly dancer.
Oof.
Ouch.
Can't really say anything to that one. ;)
Yeah, it's been tough in Ohio, but which state hasn't seen difficulties? GAMA needs to get their $#!+ together or Origins is going to crash crash...
Makes this Ohio boy sad.
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You'll notice there's no pictures of me in there. Doug was kind enough to give me a couple of breather slots which I took advantage of to take pictures.
Hrmmm .. couldn't let Kyle get away with not appearing *nose wiggle*
Go to Kyle
*disclaimer of not a total techie geek and am prolly going to screw up the linkage*
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I had an incredible time at the con as well. Doug was a fantastic organizer.
The players I had at each of my slots were amazing. I really felt as though Pathfinder players are some of the best in the world. Every session was engaging, exciting, and just sheer fun.
I did get barraged with a number questions concerning the eligibility of Pathfinder material. While there were Pathfinder products available, they were not in the numbers needed to sustain the interest. At one point I had a table with 4 players who had never played Pathfinder before and they desperately wanted to get ahold of the books after they were done. It was hard to tell them that they needed to slug it out in the exhibit hall instead of just heading to a single booth for all of their needs. Eventually, I just answered requests by directing them to the website.
Outside of that, everything went smoothly. I would certainly volunteer for Doug again. Maybe next time I will have the time just to hang out and talk to others. I felt bad I hadn't put more effort into that.
It certainly had nothing to do with the other GMs, who appeared to be great guys and gals. This weekend just happened to fall in the midst of our major move from an apartment to a newly purchased house. It limited my time at the con and prevented me from hanging out.
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Hey all - had a great time playing my first PFS scenarios, but just a heads up...
when I went and signed in to the website / registered my PC, the Pathfinder number I was given seemed to already be "occupied". There was a session reported from Bashcon (in Feb.). The faction was wrong too.
I'm guessing that either someone at Bashcon had a typo entering numbers, or my number was previously given out. I've sent a message to TPTB (well, customer service, anyway - any other addresses I should try?), but wanted to toss this out there, as either of the possible problems could mean there are a bunch more of these problems coming.
Dave
PS - Mucho thanks to Doug Doug and the other DMs that put up with Brik, Tikobos and Bryson, aka me, Brian and Lynn
Dave, that sounds like my mistake. It was probably because I used an old sheet of PFS cards that I handed out in February but forgot to mark off the ones that had been assigned. I am in the midst of reporting the sessions from origins. Contact me at dmiles@starems.com and I'll get your information fixed. Sorry for the bother, but I am glad you spoke up.
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PS - Mucho thanks to Doug Doug and the other DMs that put up with Brik, Tikobos and Bryson, aka me, Brian and Lynn
Echoing Dave's thanks -- Was able to play in 4 different slots, all generics-funded, 4 different judges (Kyle, Doug, Roger, and a 4th gentleman who's name wludes me at the moment), and all were excellent!
Though I have some of the PF PDFs, I did take a look on Saturday and Sunday for hardbacks, and the only vendor I could find with anything were the guys who do the "Exact Change Dance", and they only had a few copies of the Core Rulebook and nothing else.
Whether he was being truthful or not, one vendor indicated that the lack of Paizo books was due to some agreement vendors sign when registering for Origins; said agreement prevented anyone from selling Paizo books...
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CEO
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Whether he was being truthful or not, one vendor indicated that the lack of Paizo books was due to some agreement vendors sign when registering for Origins; said agreement prevented anyone from selling Paizo books...
Since we weren't at the show as a vendor, that wouldn't have applied to us. It would have a few years ago when we attended, so maybe the vendors remembered that. But they wouldn't have had any troubles this year and we would have actually appreciated it.
-Lisa
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Even as a random player, I was hearing a lot of people despair over the lack of PF books. There was one booth (the one that was selling all of the Green Ronin and Fantasy Flight stuff, near the Cthulhuoana/Steve Jackson booth) that had a healthy supply of Core Rulebooks, and another booth had some of the print Genius Guides, but that was it as far as I saw. Catalyst and Sandstorm were really the only big Tabletop RPG presences there in force.
However, I found myself wishing I had signed up for more than 3 PF society games. All three I played in were an absolute blast, finished off by my character making 2nd level after barely surviving a harrowing run through "Mists of Mwengi" run by Doug Doug himself. Way too much fun.
Doug Doug, your representation of PF society is inspiring enough that I want to become a PFS GM and bring the fun of PFS to my town, Yellow Springs, OH.
Weird about Origins' dropping attendance. I've been to '06, '08, '09, and '10, and I could've sworn that this year was actually a major upswing compared to '09. One of the major Cthulhu groups came back after skipping a year, there was so much more free loot than in previous years (for cthulhu's sake the gift bag that you got just for showing up had an Axis and Allies Minis starter and a Magic The Gathering starter) and Wednesday/Thursday seemed much more active and well-attended.
BTW, I'm also a victim of the Bashcon mislisting. According to the website my Osirion Wizard is actually Andoran and took part in one of the "Devil You Know" scenarios.
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BTW, I'm also a victim of the Bashcon mislisting. According to the website my Osirion Wizard is actually Andoran and took part in one of the "Devil You Know" scenarios.
Crap. It seems that I brought a bum sheet of membership cards with me, so there could be up to ten mixed up accounts for poor Gary to sort out. I must reprinted the PDF thinking I hadn't handed the cards out previously. Never fear, we'll get it fixed and reported correctly.
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Weird about Origins' dropping attendance. I've been to '06, '08, '09, and '10, and I could've sworn that this year was actually a major upswing compared to '09.
I don't know how much off the attendance was. Last year was complicated by narrow hallways under construction that made the crowds moving back and forth to the halls seem much larger. But there is no doubt the swag bag this year was much better than last years.
I think that played a significant role. I think Ohio's depressed economy and institutional inertia/incompetence also played a significant role, as well. The year I finally gave up on the convention they ran the Origins Awards in the hallway and the statues were handed out by fat stormtroopers and someone's poor daughter dressed like a belly dancer.
As an Ohioan I just can't sit idly by while Ohio gets cited for having a significant role in Origins fate. Sure Ohio was been hit by the recession like nearly every other state. The downtown area where the convention is held is better than ever though - decent convention center, hotels, lots of great eating in the area. On top of that Columbus is pretty centrally located to within driving distance or short flights of many of the large population centers east of the Mississippi. All of these factors remain the same even during these leaner times as far as the area surrounding the convention center is concerned.
I suspect the larger problems for Origins exist from two major factors. The recession climate, which is having more of an impact on people needing to cut their travel/vacation funds. This may mean no travel to gaming conventions for a family budget or it may simply mean one has to choose between Origins or GenCon. And let's face it - if you only have one major convention in your family's travel budget, GenCon will likely win every time. So I suspect some attendance issues are a result of that - more than anything in Ohio's economy having a negative impact on the convention area directly.
And the other major factor is obviously GAMA. As you said, the year that they did the awards in a hallway certainly left a poor taste in many publisher's mouths. I remember the outcry across various blogs and message boards when that happened. I am sure for a vendor that paid good money for booth space, travel costs for their on-staff booth workers and shipments of product that having the Origins Awards held in a hallway was a slap in the face.
In addition the registration process for Origins is still a horrible process. Event lists being posted much too close to the convention to really plan ahead as one can do for GenCon. The inevitable registration issues that seem to crop up every year, coupled with a registration that also opens up at pretty much the last minute. I believe this year it took an extremely long time for them to just provide online registration for a badge.
From where I sit it seems these are the largest issues contributing to the fate of Origins. GAMA's year after year mismanagement of the event - from timely registration to holding the awards in a hallway to other factors I am sure I am not aware of as non-publisher. Then throw on the issue that the current US economy is quite likely reducing people's vacation budgets. I think these much more likely having a dramatic impact on the convention than the city of Columbus, Ohio.
With all of that said - I knew Paizo was not going to be there this year before I even attended. I hope at some point they reconsider realizing that there are a large number of Paizo fans that would support the booth - even if it was a booth that was reduced in scale compared to past Origin's booths. There are fans that would purchase product at the show and enjoy the opportunity to chat up the publishers, designers, authors, etc. I am sure there are some behind the scenes things that GAMA might be mis-managing things that make Origins less attractive, but there are still fans that would love to at least see some presence by Paizo in the dealer hall or at seminars.
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RPG Superstar 2009 Top 32, 2010 Top 8
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With all of that said - I knew Paizo was not going to be there this year before I even attended. I hope at some point they reconsider realizing that there are a large number of Paizo fans that would support the booth - even if it was a booth that was reduced in scale compared to past Origin's booths. There are fans that would purchase product at the show and enjoy the opportunity to chat up the publishers, designers, authors, etc. I am sure there are some behind the scenes things that GAMA might be mis-managing things that make Origins less attractive, but there are still fans that would love to at least see some presence by Paizo in the dealer hall or at seminars.
Wanted to add to this. Paizo not being here this year did impact my decision not to go (that and a sick dog). I've mentioned my Battletech beefs elsewhere, but that they had no new product there was a downer for me as well. I -want- reasons to go to Origins. It is here in town, and I can just run home at the end of the day, sleep in my own bed (and play with the dog). An earlier Origins would be fine by me, but it really needs some thing to make it attractive to the 'average' gamer. The new toys are always a draw for GenCon, Origins needs something similar.
Edit: Iron Wind Metals helps somewhat, with their convention exclusives. If not for a friend getting it for me, I'd have trekked down there to get last year's Hatchetman. I'm just not a big thud-bolt fan. If Doug-Doug volunteers for coordinatint duty next year, maybe ship him some swag to give away, like glasses with faction logos? Something you could only get from the con itself, and maybe being voted the 'winner' of your table? Something like that might attract folks.
Actual attendees or turnstile?
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CEO
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With all of that said - I knew Paizo was not going to be there this year before I even attended. I hope at some point they reconsider realizing that there are a large number of Paizo fans that would support the booth - even if it was a booth that was reduced in scale compared to past Origin's booths. There are fans that would purchase product at the show and enjoy the opportunity to chat up the publishers, designers, authors, etc. I am sure there are some behind the scenes things that GAMA might be mis-managing things that make Origins less attractive, but there are still fans that would love to at least see some presence by Paizo in the dealer hall or at seminars.
The biggest problem for us is logistics. Getting a booth and staff from Seattle to Ohio is VERY expensive. In the past, we've lost tens of thousands of dollars by attending Origins. Usually, you hope the sales in the booth will at least help you to break even, but Origins wasn't even close the last few times that we attended as a dealer. Most of the folks who attend as dealers are within driving distance of the show. You will notice, that there was not WotC. No Privateer Press. No AEG. All of those are West Coast companies who can't afford to send out a booth and staff for a convention the size of Origins. GenCon is 5 to 6 times bigger and it is the only one where it makes sense for us to send somebody. So I doubt that we will ever be a dealer again at Origins unless GAMA somehow subsidizes our costs.
-Lisa
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The unfortunate side of Paizo not being at Origins is there are those of of that can only choose one con a year ... personally I choose Origins because it is smaller and for me that is more fun. I've been to Gen-Con and honestly wasn't impressed; and traveling to the coast to go to Paizo-Con isn't feasible right now.. but that just means that those like me end up supporting their friendly local gaming store or buying what we need online.
There are ways around everything; some just have to make the sacrifices that others won't.