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Hi All,
I thought I'd better give this topic it's own thread title so that anyone who had planned to attend is made aware as soon as possible, particularly for those of us arranging interstate travel and accommodation, that GenConOz have announced on their website the cancellation of the event in Brisbane for 2010.
I am extremely saddened by the news. Having spent many long hours scheduling events, and many email discussions with a great team of GMs, we were to run up to seven tables per session, over 50 tables in all, double last year's coverage. I was truly looking forward to meeting you all, running some great games, and building the Pathfinder community across Australia. I think this is an enormous missed opportunity for all of us.
I'll remain in discussion with my GM team over the next few days and keep an eye on this thread, to hear what people's feelings are on this. Most people I've heard from have been keen to do something in the spirit of GenConOz in it's wake.
One suggestion I've heard is "A lot of us have already bought our tickets, we may as well make something of it anyway" - though if games were to take place, we'd need to find our own Brisbane venue.
Another suggestion has been let's use that weekend to support Pathfinder in our local communities by offering gamedays or mini-conventions.
Yet another suggestion is to divert the time and money you would have spent on GenConOz to support another interstate convention with your attendance instead.
Or to pour the energy and enthusiasm you've held for GenConOz into other conventions throughout the year to make them the very best they can be!
Note: Melbourne's next convention Unicon is being held the very weekend after GenConOz was due to run (Friday 1st - Sunday 3rd October, 2010) so that might be a good choice.
Let me know your thoughts.
Cheers,
DarkWhite
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Well, our group of 11 from Sydney have air tickets bought and accommodation booked.
I'm pissed off as I had an absolute ball last year.
The most fun of it though, was playing Pathfinder and hanging out with friends old and new - as well as enjoying the West End bars and restaurants. The Con itself was a bit of a side show.
If we could get the support of a local gaming store to host us or we could find a suitable venue like a hotel function room I reckon we could have a pretty fine little Pathfinder Con of our own.
Alternatively, we could look at crediting our air tickets for Melbourne and head down to Unicon instead. I'm sure the Melbourne bars and pubs will be happy to trade the dollars earmarked for Brisbane tills for drinks and food. Unfortunately BrisVegas has it all over Melbourne for balmy evenings....
I'll check with the airline to see what the story is. We went cheap and inflexible though, so I'm not feeling too positive.
That really sucks for you guys. Sorry to hear that!
I hope you can piece something together to give the Pathfinder fans who already have non-refundable plans made some games to play. Doing so despite the cancellation of the convention would be an awesome PR success for PFS.
Best of luck, friends.
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It's looking like we're committed to Brisbane, Darkwhite. Flight tickets aren't mobile. So, let's sort something out for Pathfinder fans. Perhaps from the ashes of GenConOz rises the phoenix of PaizoConOz...
You've got your GMs. We need a venue, chairs and tables. We could also, reasonably, ask GenConOz to advertise the replacement event on their website. Let's do it!
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Unicon Melbourne is going ahead anyway, and most definitely I was going to run Pathfinder Society there, so for any Melbourne folk who feel the trip to Brisbane isn't worth the effort without the whole GenCon experience, there will be Pathfinder for them to enjoy at Unicon.
As you have pointed out, there are a good number of you with flights and/or accommodation already booked for Brisbane who can't change those now, as well as the local Brisbane community who'll be missing out, so it makes sense to run something in Brisbane on that weekend.
PaizoConOz sounds like a great idea, and I'd like to propose now that it be held in a different city each year (starting this year with Brisbane for obvious reasons) for the following reasons:
1) Let's be optimists and hope that GenConOz may return another year. We really don't want to be competing in the same space with them, Brisbane in September is their gig.
2) Let's bring Pathfinder to cities in our region that are lacking their own cons. Eg, Adelaide, Perth, Hobart, Darwin, New Zealand, Singapore even? A small fan-supported con could achieve this, whereas a larger event might struggle.
3) Over at the Regional Coordinator Apply Now thread, there has been much debate over the Australian region being too large for any one person to be responsible for. Certainly it will be a challenge, but I think something like a roaming PaizoCon could go a long way to building and supporting a Pathfinder community network around Australia, one city at a time.
What do you think? Anyone on-board with this idea?
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PaizoConOz sounds like a great idea, and I'd like to propose now that it be held in a different city each year (starting this year with Brisbane for obvious reasons) for the following reasons:1) Let's be optimists and hope that GenConOz may return another year. We really don't want to be competing in the same space with them, Brisbane in September is their gig.
2) Let's bring Pathfinder to cities in our region that are lacking their own cons. Eg, Adelaide, Perth, Hobart, Darwin, New Zealand, Singapore even? A small fan-supported con could achieve this, whereas a larger event might struggle.
3) Over at the Regional Coordinator Apply Now thread, there has been much debate over the Australian region being too large for any one person to be responsible for. Certainly it will be a challenge, but I think something like a roaming PaizoCon could go a long way to building and supporting a Pathfinder community network around Australia, one city at a time.
What do you think? Anyone on-board with this idea?
Great idea. Darwin PaizoCon sounds awesome! I'd have to go early/stay later to fit in the fishing I'd want to do.
Back to Brisbane, if Masika is coming down from Rocky, then we already have two full tables of GenCon OZ refugees. I'm sure we could get to at least three tables with players from the greater Brisbane area.
Let's find a venue and get cracking.
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I have no experience with booking venues or what the costs might be. I presume someone would have to pay up-front to book the venue, and be re-imbursed with fees per session afterwards. Being a volunteer run event, we don't want anyone being out-of-pocket at the end of the day. Are there any GST taxation requirements? Public liability insurance etc? Anyone have any experience with these issues?
Presumably the event would have to be in the city, as that is where people have booked their accommodation. Does that make venue options more expensive? Any Brisbane folk able to help out with local knowledge?
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I have no experience with booking venues or what the costs might be. I presume someone would have to pay up-front to book the venue, and be re-imbursed with fees per session afterwards. Being a volunteer run event, we don't want anyone being out-of-pocket at the end of the day. Are there any GST taxation requirements? Public liability insurance etc? Anyone have any experience with these issues?
Presumably the event would have to be in the city, as that is where people have booked their accommodation. Does that make venue options more expensive? Any Brisbane folk able to help out with local knowledge?
I'll talk with you offline on this, but as it's a not for profit event unofficial event (a bunch of friends getting together) there's no GST issues. Public liability insurance is covered by the venue (part of the cost).
There seems to be quite a few options available but if any locals can help with a venue, please drop us a line or post here.
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Thanks for your help looking into venue options, Rizzo.
I have updated the GenConOz-2010 event page here on paizo.com with news of the cancellation and renaming it PaizoConOz 2010 Brisbane. I thought this was better than cancelling the old event and creating a new one, as any links to the previous event page will now advise visitors of the change.
I'll update it with venue details as soon as we've secured one.
The scenario line-up is likely to change depending on venue hours, GM availability and number of tables we end up running.
I'll try and get an event page up for Unicon shortly.
Josh is gonna be so proud of this thread when he gets done with PaizoCon UK.
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Great news!
I am in as my tickets are not refundable. My wife and I will be down Wednesday to celerbrate our wedding anniversary in luxary.
I will be free Thursday pm through to Sunday pm.
I am not in Brisbane but I would be happy to help in some way. I can play or GM. I could possibly sponser, more likely partly sponser, the event if the upfront fees are not huge. In terms of organisation, program, etc, I can not offer my time currently. I can offer my services from the start of the Queensland school holidays then from the Thursday (starting day of the Genconoz before cancellation).
I am one hundred percent behind getting some PFS happening on the Genconoz 2010 proposed date.
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Perth actually has SwanCon.
Okay, thanks for the info.
Just kidding, of course! I've met a Perth guy or two who used to fly regularly to Melbourne cons as they claimed there wasn't really anything in Perth. Is SwanCon a recent development? And is it your only annual convention?
Melbourne is currently blessed with three annual conventions: Unicon, Arcanacon and Conquest. In recent years, there have also been others, including DwarfCon and RetroCon. Geelong also has a regular weekly Pathfinder game-day (Geelong Gamer's Guild) held at GoodGames Geelong.
So while Perth may already have SwanCon, it's still under consideration for a future PaizoConOz.
Adelaide would be a good choice for me, as I grew up there and familiar with the place, and know a few game stores in the area.
Adelaide used to host a games convention set in the Old Adelaide Gaol, where the games were held sitting in the cells of the jail. That one has been on my wish list to attend for a while now, but I've heard it hasn't run for the last few years? It would be awesome to hold a Pathfinder event there if it's still available as a venue, maybe with jail-themed scenarios (there are a couple as I recall).
But as I generally visit family back in Adelaide each Christmas anyway, and have a couple of gamer contacts there, I might be able to organise a Pathfinder game-day in Adelaide then.
I'm happy to plan a future PaizoConOz wherever it's most needed. The thought is that Melbourne and (presumably) Sydney are already well serviced with game conventions and game-days throughout the year, so while I'm sure they would enjoy hosting yet another Con, they don't really need it. The goal is to show other cities what they're missing out on, and to encourage them to start up their own Pathfinder communities.
I've heard comment from many gamers why was GenConOz held in Brisbane when most gamers appear to be concentrated in Melbourne and Sydney? Surely travel inconvenience would be minimised if held in either of those cities and attendance would be greater? But having attended GenConOz last year, one of the most refreshing aspects of it was meeting new gamers, both Brisbane locals and travellers from throughout Australia, and introducing them to Pathfinder, instead of providing sessions to the same crowd of regulars who already enjoyed the game (preaching to the converted).
PaizoCon should be an outreach program to help grow the hobby in new areas, supported by recognised GMs throughout Australia.
@Josh: I hope there's no problem with assuming the name PaizoConOz for an Australian event? The thought was, Australia needs a national Pathfinder event, a place where GMs and organisers throughout the country can meet annualy. As a fill-in for GenConOz with GMs and players flying in from cities all over the continent, it's not really a local Brisbane convention, but a rather unique national gathering, and holding future PaizoConOz in other cities helps maintain this role. The original PaizoCon (USA) was a fan-initiated event, and due to the most unfortunate cancellation of GenConOz, fans re-grouping to keep the games running is definitely true to the Paizo community spirit.
@Masika, I'll be attending both PaizoConOz 2010 Brisbane and Unicon 2010 Melbourne :-) They're held on consecutive weekends. It's going to be a busy fortnight!
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Just to add to the best wishes for PaizoCon Oz from the UK. GenCon UK going down last year was pretty much what led to Dave (Wintergreen) coming forward and with PaizoCon UK stepping in to fill the gap for the crazy (in the best possible way) UK gamers who play PFS. :)
Wow, I hadn't realised that. Deja-vu, huh?
Thanks for the best wishes. PaizoCon UK is happening this weekend, right? Best wishes to everyone participating from those of us on the other side of Golarion! Hope you all have a blast, and say "hi" to Josh :-)
Cheers,
DarkWhite
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We had submitted 55 sessions to GenConOz, and were awaiting approval before announcing them on the boards. Unfortunately, with changed circumstances, the schedule will need to be re-worked due to:@Darkwhite
Any chance of a program (draft)? I see that you advertised the generic scenarioes but I am dying for the proposed list.
I will play where I can but if there are sessions where there is no games for me I am happy to GM.
- GM availability - we have most GMs on-board, but not all, due to the GenCon cancellation;
- venue dates - we're aiming for a four-day convention, but maybe we find a great venue at a good price that is only available for three out of four days;
- venue hours - may restrict us to two sessions per day instead of three;
- venue space - how many tables will fit comfortably in the space available?
- less gamers may hear about the event without GenConOz promotion;
- GenConOz was more than a games-day, it was a show! I know people already have cancelled their plans to attend on hearing the news.
Reduced attendance means sadly the number of tables we had planned to run probably won't all be required. I'll have to consider how this affects scheduling.
For example, the previous schedule was tailored to meet individual GMs session availability; scheduling four-part series, running some twice, once at low level, once at mid-level, so that more players could get an opportunity to play them; ensuring a mix of low and mid level scenarios were available across every session; spreading a few Season 0 scenarios throughout; considering working folk may only be available on the weekend; avoiding awkward overlaps etc.
The schedule might look like a random assortment of scenarios, but believe me, many many hours of planning and negotiation went into putting it together. Now if any of the variables described above change, the whole schedule may need to be reworked.
We don't have GenCon's online registration, so I'll look into using AON - online convention site.
GenConOz is the only convention I've attended that expects attendees to sign up for sessions weeks or months in advance. Local Melbourne conventions have operated largely on a sign-up on the day basis. As a result, it has been impossible to predict player numbers, character levels, or scenarios already burned. We list every scenario on a white-board, muster players together, and allocate scenarios to the players requirements.
I'm not suggesting we take this route with PaizoCon, but i am suggesting due to changed circumstances, to be prepared to change to another table on the day.
I'm not trying to paint a gloomy picture of the event. We have GMs, we have players, PaizoConOz will go ahead, and adventures will be run. In fact, grouping together and running it ourselves after the GenConOz announcement makes it much more personal, something we can all feel proud we made happen.
All I'm suggesting is that there are simply too many loose ends to be able to release a schedule of scenarios yet. The scenarios listed on the PaizoConOz 2010 Brisbane page are those we submitted to GenConOz and have GMs prepared to run and is the best guess we have right now. Though the list is likely to change now, and I can't release session times until we have a secured venue.
Though I welcome any offers to GM, they really can't be dependent on knowing in advance what sessions you might want to play first. Otherwise, I'll be tying myself in loops trying to accommodate everyone's personal requests.
Cheers,
DarkWhite
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Roger DarkWhite.
You can count on me as a player/sponser and secondly as a GM (depending on what sessions are available on the day).
I am not sure if there is someone on the ground in Brisbane who can help. Most of the gaming shops do not have the space. There is one who sells pathfinder who "could" sit a few tables. FastBreak in Nundah as rooms upstairs - basic but doable. A pub is just down from there as well. :)
I helped organised the 2007 (i think that year) VtES National Champion ship and we use the venue with 30 people. I am not sure if Paul would be up for it though.
I am going to see if there place that can accomadate several tables that is less than 500 dollars a day. If someone from Brisbane is on to this let me know and I will stop my looking.
Also, is there a private mail list/forum were we can discuss details?
Again, if there are plans afoot please let me know and I will stop. :)
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Sad news; I was very much looking forward to Gencon 2010. Just had booked my time off work this week too, all in anticipation of playing in the Pathfinder events.
PaizoConOz sounds like a very good idea indeed.
The LXG (League of Extraordinary Gamers) club (Brisbane based) may be able to offer some advise or assistance in procuring a suitable venue. This is their website: League of Extraordinary Gamers.
Some University venues have hosted gaming events in the past and they are well serviced by public transport. Griffith University, QUT and The University of Queensland have venues, I am unsure of availability vs size vs price.
My fingers are crossed that this goes ahead and if I hear of anything venue wise I'll certainly forward the information.
Cheers
DDM
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RizzotheRat has made some initial enquiries, and a few venues are going to get back to him on Monday. But certainly if anyone has other suggestions to offer, please email me (my contact details available on the PaizoConOz 2010 Brisbane event page) and I'll cc: Rizzo and yourself in on email correspondence between us.
It would be really helpful for a Brisbane gamer with local knowledge to be involved in this side of things, if anyone is out there? Particuarly someone with contacts, venue booking experience, or just ideas for a place we out-of-towners might not be aware of.
Preference would be somewhere within the city, as that's where most will have booked their accommodation already, but somewhere easily accessible by public transport could also be an option if it was a good space for a good price.
As an example, Rizzo has found hotel conference room space for $300/day. Don't know yet if it's available on the dates we'd need it, but this is one of several options we're looking into.
Thinking outside of the box, I've heard of gamers using conference-room office-space on weekends. There would of course have to be some strict supervision and rules around using such space, but if there were a local gamer with a bit of influence in their company that was interested in making this happen, it could be an option.
Cheers,
DarkWhite
Good luck OZ, I hope you have great success with your new convention and I'm sure many of us far away will be routing for you.
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Sad news; I was very much looking forward to Gencon 2010. Just had booked my time off work this week too, all in anticipation of playing in the Pathfinder events.
PaizoConOz sounds like a very good idea indeed.
The LXG (League of Extraordinary Gamers) club (Brisbane based) may be able to offer some advise or assistance in procuring a suitable venue. This is their website: League of Extraordinary Gamers.
Some University venues have hosted gaming events in the past and they are well serviced by public transport. Griffith University, QUT and The University of Queensland have venues, I am unsure of availability vs size vs price.
My fingers are crossed that this goes ahead and if I hear of anything venue wise I'll certainly forward the information.
Cheers
DDM
Cheers. I've hit the LXG Board with the news of PaizoCon.
I'm confident we'll find a suitable venue. We'll start close to the Convention Centre (where a lot of us a staying) and spread from there. Watch this space!
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Regional Venture-Coordinator, Mediterranean
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Really sorry to hear that GenCon has folded. While my experience is all for the UK if you want to ask any questions about setting up a PaizoCon then feel free to email me at paizoconuk@hotmail.com and I'm sure Josh would also be happy to talk with you.
Oh man, what a drag.
Rest-assured, DarkWhite, that I'm just as disappointed as you that this happened. I've got an inbox to clear today, but I'll get to you soon about assisting where we can with Paizo Con Oz.
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I have checked if Griffith University South Bank had any availability, unfortunately their spaces are all booked out:(
Cheers
DarkDM
Hey DarkDM,
Thanks for your enthusiasm.
I'm currently in contact with a lot of different venues, including the Uni, so rather than have them hit by a bunch of different people asking for the same thing, would you mind letting myself and Darkwhite know of any suggested venues so we can coordinate our efforts?
Cheers,
R.
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It would be really helpful for a Brisbane gamer with local knowledge to be involved in this side of things, if anyone is out there? Particuarly someone with contacts, venue booking experience, or just ideas for a place we out-of-towners might not be aware of.I suggest you talk to the guys at "The Stockade", as well as Steve Darlington as they are both looking to set something up in Gencon Oz's place.
I'm also aware of others trying to set something up in GenConOz's place, but thanks for the contacts, it's all useful. Information is shifting daily on this (if not hourly), as various people get in touch, so stay tuned ...
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I'm particularly impressed by the speed with which you Aussies have determined to do this. I really hope you put together something you all enjoy, and maybe Paizo can send someone with prizes/new stuff.
You know, I've been to GenCon many times, but I've also been to (much) smaller cons with no commercial support and they were lots of fun. Once we just rented a bunch of rooms in a hotel and used our rooms as game rooms. Be creative and have a great time!
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I suggest you talk to the guys at "The Stockade", as well as Steve Darlington as they are both looking to set something up in Gencon Oz's place.
I've hit the Stockade blog linking back to the PaizoCon OZ Brisbane page. Nathan who does the Here Be Gamers podcast is going to give us a plug and they are keen for a social catch up as well.
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Well if this gets up and running, I'm good for the weekend part of things at least. Pretty sure I'm working for the original thursday friday that gen con was going to run. Saturday and Sunday are mine to toy with though. Count on me as a player for this. If I get some time before it runs to read and prepare a session properly, I may be able to GM one for you guys as well.
Cheers
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Well if this gets up and running, I'm good for the weekend part of things at least. Pretty sure I'm working for the original thursday friday that gen con was going to run. Saturday and Sunday are mine to toy with though. Count on me as a player for this. If I get some time before it runs to read and prepare a session properly, I may be able to GM one for you guys as well.
Cheers
Shouldn't you rename the topic to : PaizoConOz announced? ;-)
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Shouldn't you rename the topic to : PaizoConOz announced? ;-)
People spontaneously started dubbing this effort PaizoConOz in the wake of GenConOz, and it rapidly gained momentum, and I can understand this sentiment and enthusiasm.
However, cooperative negotiations are still being held with other organisers, all of who are scrambling to provide an event for their gamers.
It would be a win/win for all participants if one venue could support all gamers. However other organisers could feel it inappropriate should we promote such an event as "PaizoCon".
It might also be that Brisbane hosts a distributed gaming event with different games being held at a range of smaller venues. PaizoConOz could be one of those.
This may determine whether or not we run with the PaizoConOz title or not.
Australia needs a national event where Pathfinder GMs can meet once a year, and a roaming PaizoCon held in a different Australian city each year is being suggested for this purpose. Brisbane may or may not be the first of these.
Rest assured, once we have firm details for a Pathfinder venue in Brisbane, and for obvious reasons we're moving as fast as we can on this, I'll announce it here and also move discussion to a new thread titled appropriately.
Cheers,
DarkWhite
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PaizoConOz 2010 Brisbane announced!
Please refer to the PaizoConOz 2010 Brisbane thread or event page for further information.
Hope to see you there!
Cheers,
DarkWhite
Pathfinder Society GM
PaizoConOz 2010 Brisbane