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I have considered indicating my interest in being one of Houston's VC's, but have been told I probably shouldn't because of the stress I put myself through getting OwlCon organized. Also I am unable to travel at present so the requirement to attend PaizoCon or GenCon put me out of the running.
Just my 2 cp.
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I have considered indicating my interest in being one of Houston's VC's, but have been told I probably shouldn't because of the stress I put myself through getting OwlCon organized. Also I am unable to travel at present so the requirement to attend PaizoCon or GenCon put me out of the running.
Just my 2 cp.
Ah! but non-USA Venture-Captains can attend another regional convention instead.
So once Texas secedes, you're golden!:)
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I have considered indicating my interest in being one of Houston's VC's, but have been told I probably shouldn't because of the stress I put myself through getting OwlCon organized. Also I am unable to travel at present so the requirement to attend PaizoCon or GenCon put me out of the running.
Just my 2 cp.
Ah! but non-USA Venture-Captains can attend another regional convention instead.
So once Texas secedes, you're golden!
:)
That's just wrong!!
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That's just wrong!!I have considered indicating my interest in being one of Houston's VC's, but have been told I probably shouldn't because of the stress I put myself through getting OwlCon organized. Also I am unable to travel at present so the requirement to attend PaizoCon or GenCon put me out of the running.
Just my 2 cp.
Ah! but non-USA Venture-Captains can attend another regional convention instead.
So once Texas secedes, you're golden!
:)
Of course by wrong you mean that they have already suceded? I didn't know that.
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Talking to others in Texas it seems the biggest thing stopping people in Dallas and Houston from applying is the requirement to go to GenCon or PaizoCon and volunteering all your time for that. I fully understand why that requirement is there, but it does make it hard.I actually don't understand the requirement. I mean, I get what they're trying to accomplish, but I think it's fairly short sighted.
I've talked to several friends who coordinate volunteer efforts for non-profit organizations and they both stood slack jawed (seriously, one just stared at me) when I told them the requirements for the volunteer position. It's hard enough getting good people to volunteer for something with this hefty of a time commitment, but to tie it into the other laundry list of requirements makes it all a pretty significant burden for a number of reasons. I think this may already be evidenced by the number of open VC positions.
Coordinating GMs, preparing for modules, and GMing already takes a pretty significant chunk of time, but the list of other requirements is pretty extensive. Now some of those things are pretty important, like keeping up with the conventions, and being up-to-speed with the full compliment of Paizo materials, but the ones that surprise me are the ones that come with a rather significant financial burden for the volunteer. While overall it's a pretty darned inexpensive vacation, travel to GenCon or PaizoCon can be considered "too expensive" for a lot of people. Getting a free ticket, and getting crammed in a double bed doesn't quite make up for that expense (at least for some of us). Even something as minor as keeping tabs on all the local game stores can be a pretty significant effort, and with the rising price of gas, very expensive. As an example, if I were to go to each game store in the Twin Cities metro area and spending some quality time networking, I'd be looking at a full weekend at least simply because there are so many, and they're spread out from here...
Maybe I am just being a lawyer here and if someone can direct me to where anyone official has clarified this (or an actual V-C can clear it up) I would appreciate it. I don't actually read that you have to spend your entire GenCon or PaizoCon working for Paizo.
The requirements state "Attend PaizoCon or Gen Con and work for Paizo at one (or both) of those conventions annually. Non-USA regional coordinators will be expected to attend large local conventions to be named later." and then in the rewards section it states "Free attendance at PaizoCon or Gen Con (or both), including free badges, a portion of a hotel room, booth vouchers, and possible product rewards. In order to receive the free attendance, the regional coordinator must arrange his or her own travel to and from show, must provide for his or her own food, and must volunteer for a minimum of eight slots at Gen Con and a minimum of four slots at PaizoCon." Nowhere does it state that the 8 slots is what is required that you work, only that if you want the free stuff, that is required. It does say that you have to work and I wouldn't mind helping do 2-4 slots at either Con. I love working at Cons but I also go to attend the Con and play stuff other than PFS.|
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I have considered indicating my interest in being one of Houston's VC's, but have been told I probably shouldn't because of the stress I put myself through getting OwlCon organized. Also I am unable to travel at present so the requirement to attend PaizoCon or GenCon put me out of the running.
Just my 2 cp.
Ah! but non-USA Venture-Captains can attend another regional convention instead.
So once Texas secedes, you're golden!
:)
Republic of Texas!
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Maybe I am just being a lawyer here and if someone can direct me to where anyone official has clarified this (or an actual V-C can clear it up) I would appreciate it. I don't actually read that you have to spend your entire GenCon or PaizoCon working for Paizo.
Good point Ace, and I may be going off of outdated material since I haven't really perused the position. If you read the current announcement I could see the wording nuance you noticed.
It's a question for Hyrum I think, or if a VC could come out and tell us what's expected, that too would work.
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Maybe I am just being a lawyer here and if someone can direct me to where anyone official has clarified this (or an actual V-C can clear it up) I would appreciate it. I don't actually read that you have to spend your entire GenCon or PaizoCon working for Paizo.
The requirements state "Attend PaizoCon or Gen Con and work for Paizo at one (or both) of those conventions annually. Non-USA regional coordinators will be expected to attend large local conventions to be named later." and then in the rewards section it states "Free attendance at PaizoCon or Gen Con (or both), including free badges, a portion of a hotel room, booth vouchers, and possible product rewards. In order to receive the free attendance, the regional coordinator must arrange his or her own travel to and from show, must provide for his or her own food, and must volunteer for a minimum of eight slots at Gen Con and a minimum of four slots at PaizoCon." Nowhere does it state that the 8 slots is what is required that you work, only that if you want the free stuff, that is required. It does say that you have to work and I wouldn't mind helping do 2-4 slots at either Con. I love working at Cons but I also go to attend the Con and play stuff other than PFS.
For what it's worth, this was my interpretation when I applied and is still my interpretation to this day. Locking me to a table for 4 days seems like a misuse of my skill set. There is a big difference between running (even) 4 slots and 8 to me.
You must work for Paizo at GenCon or PaizoCon*. You may be rewarded with Tier 1 GM stuff if you are a Tier 1 GM.
*In this case I'm sure 'work' has the same connotation as 'other duties as assigned' to be a catchall for 'you are my b%#~%.'
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Maybe I am just being a lawyer here...
IMO, the RAI is clear. You must volunteer for a minimum of 8 slots (or four) at GenCon (or PaizoCon) if you are a VC. You will also earn benefits, including swag and special access. However, it does not seem to necessarily mean GM'ing a table. It could be working the muster/reporting table, or whatever other menial tasks the slave-masters, er, I mean Paizo staff, might assign you.
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TwilightKnight
The RAI as far as I remember was discussed when the 'job description' was posted originally. The reason to ask Venture Captains to come to either PaizoCon or to GenCon was to ensure there would be at least once a year a face to face contact.
This makes a lot of sense as someone like Hyrum or Mark (Josh at that time) would like to meet people in person and be able to talk to them. Already at that stage it was noted that this would be impractical for VCs from outside of the US to come along.
As such - VCs to GM is rather a nice to have (and the more slots the better) but I wouldn't expect anyone being turned down / fired if they do less slots / spend part of the time elsewhere.
The whole issue is that a job description paints an ideal person that doesn't exist. I commented on that in the original thread. I even jokingly showed that RAW Josh wouldn't fullfill the stringent criteria.
Volunteering to be VC is a responsible position that will cost you a lot of your free time and isn't to be taken lightly.
At the same time - you don't sign away your soul, become a slave to Paizo etc.
In my view Rules lawyer need to relax a little bit when they read the 'job description'. I'm not talking for Paizo here - but I just urge everyone to use common sense rather then interpreting every single sentence in the worst possible manner.
Paizo wants the best people for the job in each area and as far as I can tell they succeeded in many regions. But these are still human beings and not some superhumans who do nothing else but have a job as VC.
I did write something along this lines when I tried that someone at that time would relax and send in his application. He is now a wonderful VC and I'm sure RAW I could find reasons why he never would have qualified.
Thod
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stuff
+1, I was just referring to what was written on the original call sheet. IMO, they are not expecting the VC's to sit for tables to fulfill their time requirements. There is a lot a VC can do to support a convention without running individual games.
I think this "job," like any other, has a bit of lee-way with regards to the requirements/expectations. While it might read, "Bachelor degree required," it may also state, "or equivalent experience." I think the gist is that, if you are interested in the VC position, and there isn't already one in your area, send an email to Hyrum/Mark. List your availability for the conventions and see if it will fulfill their expectations. The worst that can happen is they say no.
RPG Superstar 2010 Top 16
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Serious question: I presume that one applies to be a Venture-Captain for a particular term. (I can't imagine anyone committing to attend Gen-Con in perpetuity, and it's better to successfully complete a finite term than to burn out.)
What kind of time-commitments seem reasonable? Only one year? Only five?
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Serious question: I presume that one applies to be a Venture-Captain for a particular term. (I can't imagine anyone committing to attend Gen-Con in perpetuity, and it's better to successfully complete a finite term than to burn out.)
What kind of time-commitments seem reasonable? Only one year? Only five?
Well my understanding about the 'special' meeting of VCs at Paizocon was that it would include a branding ceremony: Aren't brands for life?
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Serious question: I presume that one applies to be a Venture-Captain for a particular term. (I can't imagine anyone committing to attend Gen-Con in perpetuity, and it's better to successfully complete a finite term than to burn out.)
What kind of time-commitments seem reasonable? Only one year? Only five?
75 year minimum commitment.
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Serious question: I presume that one applies to be a Venture-Captain for a particular term. (I can't imagine anyone committing to attend Gen-Con in perpetuity, and it's better to successfully complete a finite term than to burn out.)
What kind of time-commitments seem reasonable? Only one year? Only five?
Speaking only for myself, I've been running Pathfinder at Arcanacon, Conquest and Unicon in Melbourne for the past three years, GenConOz and Paizcon Oz for the past two, Free RPG Game days since D0 Hollow's Last Hope was released in July 2007, and this was all before I applied for the role.
Now I'm running weekly Pathfinder sessions at a local game store, occasional visits to Geelong for their special game days, corresponding with other GMs I've met at various conventions to help organise their own events across Australia.
Regional Co-ordinator is just an extension of what I was doing already, and continue to do, because I love Pathfinder and all the great friends I've met both in Melbourne and across Australia.
Lot of work? On top of a day-job, keeping up with messageboard posts, responding to emails, it sure is.
Burn-out? Maybe, if I were doing it all myself with no appreciation for my efforts. But that's simply not the case. The reward I get is through the people I meet, building a community, and the enjoyment of the game.
If I'm doing my job right, building an awesome Australian Pathfinder community, there'll be other capable candidates to pass the torch over to before I reach the point of burn-out.
Cheers,
Stephen (DarkWhite)
Pathfinder Society 4-Star GM
Venture-Captain, Australia
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Good day everyone,
I want to become a venture captain for my area (South Greater London, UK) but I am not sure where to begin in order to become one.
I am already organising my first event in order to start brining the roleplayers in my area together and although I have no experience with Pathfinder Society I am a seasoned storyteller and used to run VtM Minds-eye theatre in Greece for quite some time.
In my area, there were two canidates for local venture captain. One had years of experince organizing conventions. The other had business experince and had built up around 70% of the store games in our Metro area and was personally responsible for our metro area being an 'early adopter' of Pathfinder.
Basically, if you want the job you need qualifications of this type, things that take years to build up, if you want to be taken as a serious canidate for this job. If you don't have something like that you won't have a response other then being politely turned down.
It's a major commitment of time and energy, much more than I'm willing to devote. Heck, even Venture Lieutennant requires more time than I'm free to give.
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Regional Venture-Coordinator, Baltic
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Good day everyone,
I want to become a venture captain for my area (South Greater London, UK) but I am not sure where to begin in order to become one.
Contact the London Venture-Captain (Rob Silk). He is very knowlegable and can help you further.
(The thread you resurrected is quite old and nowadays there are also positions of Venture-Agent and Venture-Lieutenant)
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Venture-Agent, Minnesota
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I still had fun reading it, though. What an interesting snapshot it was of the days before Minnesota had an official VC!
I would say that if you're already organizing a gaming venue, Venture Agent is a great fit. It requires you to keep to a NDA, to represent Paizo in a positive manner, and to organize games -- but mostly that is work that you are likely already doing! In return, you get to have all the scenarios downloaded to your account so that you can promote and run games at your venue.
I recommend starting out as a VA if you're already stepping up to organize games.
Hmm
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Venture-Captain, Germany—Bavaria
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As the others have suggested there are entry level positions these days, and I highly suggest you to use the other Venture Officers in your county to guide you.
PFS starts out relatively simple, but unfortunately when there are a couple of less well-clarified areas and as captain questions about those and conflicts arising from those will be brought to you.
I am not trying to intimidate anyone, but having a couple of experienced PFS GMs and players at your first event can make things much smoother.
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"Lord Romeo" I will send you a private message via this Paizo website to tell you how you can help us in London but feel free to contact me on my public email address listed on the Pathfinder Society Coordinators' webpage. http://paizo.com/pathfinderSociety/coordinators
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I suppose it is just the practicality of it all - I could stop posting under Shifty, but why?
What would be the advantage of trading in my rep on the boards and begin to post under my VC name instead?
It's a shame the VC title can't just be added to your most frequently used alias, but whatever :)
I don't know Shifty... you might want to trade in THAT rep for something new and shiny.
:)
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I still rock GM Evil when I'm posting in online pbp stuff. I use my "slave name" avatar when posting in the actual forums, for all the icky rules questions and stuff.
Best of both worlds. My question is, do I get to use my Vigilante talents in all three of my identities? I want to do cool stuff in real life too!