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We have run several modules at conventions in the Southeast, and it has met with mixed success. The typical module runs over three slots, and several (Crypt of the Everflame, for example) run two slots.
While the modules as a whole are very popular in Georgia, sometimes we get no sign-ups at all for one or two of the modules offered at a convention. My suspicion is that convention attendees tend to enjoy bouncing around between tables and playing with lots of different people. Also, players might be scared off from modules at conventions if the host convention has many other activities that a PFS player might want to attend; it can tie up one's entire day with no appreciable breaks to see other things. At conventions where PFS makes up a larger portion of the convention's offerings, modules tend to fare fairly well.
In the past year, we have run:
Crypt of the Everflame (several times)
From Shore to Sea
Midnight Mirror (table didn't make)
The Ruby Phoenix Tournament
No Response from Deepmar
(Probably a few others that I'm not remembering)
RPG Superstar 2010 Top 16
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If I have my druthers, I prefer to run a module rather than scenarios on the Sunday of a convention. The long form complements the quiet of the hall and the relaxed deadline of the end of the "slot".
Once I get a couple more modules prepped and on stand-by, I'd like to have the flexibility to sit down with players, find out what level they want to play, and finish the con with a level-appropriate long adventure.
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The problem with a lot of modules that are level 7+ is that they can run very, very long, and typically even with 12 hours to play it you still can't do everything in the module. This is from personal experience. (Curse of the Riven Sky, a level 10 module, is a prime example of this. It is exceptionally long.)
I've also had modules take as long as a scenario to finish, but then seen another group on the same module take 12 or more hours. The unpredictable nature of them may also be a deterrent of scheduling them.
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RPG Superstar 2010 Top 16
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nosig:
Crypt of the Everflame
Masks of the Living God
City of Golden Death
It would be hard to play them at a convention with the same character (they're built for levels 1, 3, and 5). You could play them straight through with a 2nd level PC (3rd in Masks and 4th in City) but I can't recommend playing the back nine holes of City of Golden Death with a party of 4th-level characters.
If you had some GM credit that would automatically kick in when the PC hits 3rd level, or credit for running pre-gens that kick in at 4th level, that would help.
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We've done full modules in a couple of our past local cons with varying results. The players seemed to have fun for the most part, but the most recent one was Masks of the Living God and one player (a friend of mine) who was using a Paladin got very upset at having to pay for an atonement because of some of the stuff he didnt feel violated his code 'enough' for it to be necessary. He did pay for it, did finish it, but claimed it was the worst module he has ever played.
But then, he's a bit overdramatic sometimes. :P
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nosig:
Crypt of the Everflame
Masks of the Living God
City of Golden Death
You could play them straight through with a 2nd level PC (3rd in Masks and 4th in City) but I can't recommend playing the back nine holes of City of Golden Death with a party of 4th-level characters.
Awe shucks it aint that bad. Starting with a level 2 character in a full party of 6 at 2nd level its not a problem to play it through and do very well.
Crypt of the Everflame - this one is good and I would love to play it again. This one would run in two slots I think
Masks of the Living God - bit of a pain, not sure if I would want to play it again, even if I could. This one might run in two slots - but might run long.
City of Golden Death - You could not pay me to play this. ... well, maybe if you PAID me, but it would take a lot. This one would run long, maybe longer than 3 slots, or even four.
Darn, sorry to hear that you didn't enjoy CoGD, I think its great. I have them down to a science and can run them all easily within 12 hours each, and I am allocating 13 total hours to each one over 4 total days.
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* We regularly schedule Sanctioned Modules at all Bay Area Conventions.
* We run them as day/three slot sign-ups and (usually) on multiple tables.
* We consistently have more players than space for these events.
Time management and pace are very important in these events. We have learned through trial and error, that allowing a seven player table is a very bad idea and should be avoided.
Live 2 Game.
Game 2 Live.
~@~
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So here is my experience as GM of No Response From Deepmar at Dragoncon a few weeks ago.
We were scheduled for all 3 slots on the first day. We started to play on time, and we had a table of 6 players.
We did all the Act I encounters, as well as all the encounters for Act II. They finally got to the correct mine that starts the really dungeon-crawly part of the adventure.
From there, the party randomly selected pretty much the exact path to get to the BBEG quickly, and were basically done halfway through the second slot.
Since they had already paid for 3 slots, I felt kinda bad so I decided to run them through one of the quicker scenarios that I had prepared for the rest of the con, which was nice. We still finished that just at the end of the second slot, so they were free to either play something else at the 3rd slot or goof off at the con.
So TLDR, be ready for improvisation and accommodating your players. I would agree with Yiroep that lower level mods are probably your best bet, as the higher level mods can take QUITE some time (Riven Sky and Ruby Phoenix come to mind). And specifically for both of those I think it's worth not cutting any material, as they are both awesome mods.
I would think there are others like No Response From Deepmar where the time could be highly variable?
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Road trip from St. Louis to the Bay area? ... that one is going to be hard.* We regularly schedule Sanctioned Modules at all Bay Area Conventions.
* We run them as day/three slot sign-ups and (usually) on multiple tables.
* We consistently have more players than space for these events.
Time management and pace are very important in these events. We have learned through trial and error, that allowing a seven player table is a very bad idea and should be avoided.
Live 2 Game.
Game 2 Live.~@~
Kublacon. You make it, I'll talk to the coordinators and GM the Mod of your choice for ya.
Just figured I'd toss in an incentive for ya ;)
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* We regularly schedule Sanctioned Modules at all Bay Area Conventions.Road trip from St. Louis to the Bay area? ... that one is going to be hard.Kublacon. You make it, I'll talk to the coordinators and GM the Mod of your choice for ya.
Just figured I'd toss in an incentive for ya ;)
All this. At Kublacon, Pacificon, and Dundracon all have had great success with SanctMods. We usually schedule them to run on a full day...using Warhorn for this really helps.
Our players and GMs (only one mod to prep, one day of GMing) enjoy them.
And, like A_D suggests, above, we work with our community to select what to run.
-Pain
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I have honestly avoid modules at CONS due to several reasons.
1. Time Constraints - Some of my CONs don't have rooms open long enough to allow for a module to be played.
2. Player Habits - Many players I have seen at my local smaller cons like to play many games over the coarse of the con. PFS, board games, CCG's etc... So many just don't want to dedicate a full day for one game.
3. My own hesitation - I think that I would rather have three tables completed for PFS (12-18 players) than a single module game which will be at best six players.
4. Lack of demand - In three years of organizing events here I haven't had a single request for modules at CONS. We tend to run them about 3-4 months at a store location as a special event. This seems to keep the players who want to play module happy.
Venture-Captain, California—San Francisco Bay Area South & West
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I think that I would rather have three tables completed for PFS (12-18 players) than a single module game which will be at best six players.
It really depends on what your players want, and how many simultaneous tables you have.
At the most recent con, at the same time a module was being run on one table I was running a three-part series (Shades of Ice) at a different table, and there were other tables where individual scenarios were available. Four players stayed at the table for all three parts of Shades of Ice, and the other two seats were filled by the same players in Parts I & II (and also filled in Part III, just by different players).
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My experience with mods at cons has been great...so long as the mods were of from 1st to 6th level. The mods that have been higher levels such as the Harrowing and Realm of the Fellnight Queen tend to take at least 10-12 hours.
You guys need to stop giving all the Kubla seats, I'm flying from Jersey and I need room too! :)
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My experience with mods at cons has been great...so long as the mods were of from 1st to 6th level. The mods that have been higher levels such as the Harrowing and Realm of the Fellnight Queen tend to take at least 10-12 hours.
You guys need to stop giving all the Kubla seats, I'm flying from Jersey and I need room too! :)
As I was just saying earlier today, the reason I love Kubla is that we get so many out of town players. Always nice to meet players from other parts of the world!