Avast! Racial boons at conventions!

[Cap'n Neckbeard]

Ahoy!

I had t'e honor of attending Tacticon in t'e fair land of Colorado! Now, tis was a fine adventure wit' fine folk and even finer ale! Now, in me hours I had a grand time, to all who ran, and all who played! But, in me sober hours I had to ask but one thing to t'e gods and all the represent: Where are t'e racial boons!

Now, I respect that those that run t'e adventures that I squash wi'h me chainsaw should get any bonus that they could get their hands on. The players did not have a chance to get ANY boons that would let them play any other race (I mean, how many times can you be a half elf and not want to drink your self to sleep? The answer is one).

Any hoot, point is; if the fine folk offer to make a grand event of smashin' and fighing fer good; does it make sense that the fighters get the option to some of the finer rewards for fighting? ( To be fair, all players in a convention should have the chance to get a racial boon or other high level boons; this does not mean that we should get those exclusive to Gencon or Paizocon, but that we can reap the awards of the convention that we deserve)

point being, I would be honored that the mighty decemberaite (Yeh non democratically elected gits!) give us mates the right, or honor, to earn our place wit' them racial boons even if we cannot attend yer honorable events in far off lands. Ah love your group, and yer game, and fighting fer the folks of good. Give meh and mah crew to earn the rewards we deserve so we can fight t'e good fight! (To sum it up, I think that all cons (conventions) should have access to racial boons (Not ALL mind you, to make the major cons special) but to support the community and to make it even more special.)

For freedom!
Lt. Corp. Cap'n Neckbeard

P.S. Cheliax smells of the hindquarters of a owlbear after a feast of fetid cranberries

[Feegle]

Ahoy!

So, there are a few questions to be answered which may shed some light on the mystery of the missing Race Boons.

1) Were there at least 15 tables of Pathfinder Society? That is the minimum for official Paizo support. I'm not familiar with Tacticon, so I don't know how big it is, but if there were only 10 tables, for example, there wouldn't be any convention boons at all.

2) Did the person in charge of organizing PFS at Tacticon get in touch with Mike Brock to ask for convention support? In my experience, there are a few cons where people organize, but if those people aren't Venture-Officers and don't get in touch with Paizo, they may not know that they can communicate with Mike or their local VO to get prize support. And logically, if they don't ask, they can't get it. :)

3) Was your organizer lucky? I've convened for a few small conventions as one of our local VOs, and I haven't received a Race Boon as part of the convention support yet. Other conventions have, so they are available outside of Gencon and Paizocon, but not every convention that receives support gets race boons. They do get boons of some kind - just not necessarily race boons. I can't shed any light on the criteria for getting race boons at a local con; Mike could, but he may or may not share. (Sometimes, he holds criteria close to the chest, presumably so that he can't get rules lawyered later on, and so that he can change the criteria to fit the situation without angry posts about it.)

Hope that helps.

Also: boo Andoran.

[Thamius]

I think everyone is going to have to scale back their race boon aspirations this year. Even at GenCon, only GM boons included additional race options, there were no player race boons handed out. If you want one, volunteer to GM at a con!

[Marack]

I was about to chime in with what Daniel just said, but I also want to add something. If you really aren't one for GMing, often if you volunteer to work at a convention, such as helping muster tables at Gencon, you may also be able to obtain such a reward.

[Drogon]

Jeff Mahood: there were 95 tables scheduled at Tacticon. Of those, I think 85-90 happened. The Venture Captain (Jacque Woods) is extremely organized and proactive and received a great deal of convention support, which was much appreciated. And, yes, we received the Ifrit racial boon for GMs, along with a number of boons for players (as the Cap'n pointed out, however, none of them were racial boons).

I think the problem is that, after two years of players having access to race boons, people have begun to expect them. Taking those away with little warning or explanation is not necessarily the expedient thing to do.

Having said that, I am personally absolutely fine with a lower volume of race boons being given out to the general population. Games have become a bit of a menagerie, lately, and I would like to see that scaled back. So, if Daniel's comment is correct, I can be counted a supporter.

Sadly, I think you will see a lot more of the OP's opinions than mine, however. There are a lot of players who will not get behind the screen for whatever reason (and no one who feels they can't or shouldn't do so should do so), and these players have a voice in what they consider fun. As you can tell by The Cap'n's post, he likes his oddities. Races that depart from the norm are what he (and others like him) enjoy playing. Opening up race boons for the last couple years, then taking them away, will invite a lot of criticism. Be ready.

[Chris Mortika]

He can still play a tengu, a pustule-covered tiefling, or a bestial aasimar. Or a half-orc, for that matter. There's still plenty of great oddball character concepts available without any boons.

Also, take a look at the boon-trading thread. Our community has a surfeit of racial boons out there. Some people go to several conventions and have picked up a half-dozen race boons over the last two years. Ask one of them whether she really needs to play another nagaji...

[Drogon]

A gamer's quest to be different from the norm is never ending. Now that *anyone* can play a tengu with a propensity to peck people, or a brooding tiefling with mommy issues, or a half-orc with a catchy underbite, that means they are "normal" in the eyes of many beholders.

"Odd" now means Ifrit, Wayang, and Sylph. The players of the coveted Goblin boon are the creme de la creme of weird and get to wave their freak flag so vigorously that people all across the country cry out in jealousy. This reaction is what so many gamers want.

Again, for the record: I'm quite alright with allowing a smaller percentage of this to happen. After all, in a gamer's absolute desire to be different from any other gamer, they ironically all become the same. My own freak flag is a sword and board cleric of the human race who can fight, support, and heal all equally well (and very well, at that). How many of *those* have you actually seen around the table? O.o

Edited: It's a grammar thing...

[Sior]

At Gen Con, I was pleasantly surprised when I got over a half dozen boon and none of them were racial boons. Sure, there was one that needed a race boon to be used so you could get a special mount, but none that I came across to BE a new race. (However, I heard there was a Kitsune boon floating about).

The time of the race boon should be at an end. Perhaps now a focus on giving little strange bonuses to a single character is a good shift in how players try to optimize. Perhaps.

[Marack]

I'd also like to note that people at GenCon were trading unused race boons for some of the new ones. There are some very nice boons this year.

[Todd Lower]

Drogon wrote:

beholders.

He, he, he. He said beholder. Someone is going to want some royalties. :-)

[Cap'n Neckbeard]

Ahoy!

Now, this isn't a rant to state 'Gimme goblin boon! Plz!" but a comment on fairness and support of a game I love. I understand the dislike of racial boons or the desire to see them fade over the coming seasons, and that would be a fine choice; though personally I would like to see some "recycling" of older racial boons (In very small numbers) at large events.

Simply put, "Race boons" to me represent someone who goes out of the way to support a game they love; such as spending money at a convention of size. And by going to these conventions they have a chance to get, as Drogon put, a "freak flag" to show they support the game. I would just like a fair shake at it, is all.

For Freedom!

(Cheliaxian beauty products make you smell of turnips)

[Todd Lower]

Cap'n Neckbeard wrote:

(Cheliaxian beauty products make you smell of turnips)

I'm pretty sure what you meant was "make you smell of durian".

[Fromper]

I've been to three conventions now, dating back more than a year, where all the GMs got a race boon, and none of the players did. There were always other boons available for players, but the race boons were for GMs only. So this isn't something new.