Attending my first convention

[SpiritWolfFenris]

What do I need with me? I've heard a lot of different things, but the one that scares me the most is the people who tell me I need to bring ALL my books.. @_@ I don't have a backpack capable of doing that.. nor the back for it. lol

So, I was trying to see how true that statement was and what else I may need to prepare.. It's a bit of a long game day o_o

Thanks !

[Purple Fluffy CatBunnyGnome]

You'll need to make sure that you have the books that are needed for the things that your character uses.

If you have 4 books that you've pulled info from, those are the 4 books you'll need to take with you.

Alternatively, if you have the books in pdf format, you can print out just the pages you need and put those in the binder with the character.

**the rationale for this is that the onus for providing the information should the GM have a question falls to the player. If the player doesn't have the reference and the GM doesn't, there is no way to make an at the table ruling on how the character's "shiny" works.

[godsDMit]

To help avoid the necessity of bringing ALL the books you own, figure out which characters you are going to/ are most likely to play during the con. Bring the books you need for those. You'll likely find that many of the things overlap, so unless you have a habit of taking a single trait/feat/spell/piece of equipment from each book to make the most optimized character, it probably wont be that bad.

Also, I dont want to encourage you to leave your Core at home, but it isnt required that you bring that, so if that is a dealbreaker, leave it behind. Or in the car.

[SpiritWolfFenris]

Hrm.. Well, I'm not too worried about the core, I'm just worried about being able to handle what I need to and ready for anything. Would taking a laptop/tablet work if you had access to the PDF's? Or do you HAVE to use the physical books?

[Stetrix]

You can use the PDf's - just make sure they are purchased under your name. Some GMs do check this.

[Purple Fluffy CatBunnyGnome]

SpiritWolfFenris wrote:

Hrm.. Well, I'm not too worried about the core, I'm just worried about being able to handle what I need to and ready for anything. Would taking a laptop/tablet work if you had access to the PDF's? Or do you HAVE to use the physical books?

PDFS are the super easy way to go .. in my opinion

[Eric Clingenpeel]

If you do bring a laptop/tablet, you'll want to make sure it can go all day long without being plugged in. There's no guarantee that you'll have access to an outlet. That's why it's suggested that you print out the relevant pages to take with you. I have both laptop and tablet, but I still make sure I have hard copies of the pages I need for my characters. I keep them in the folders with the characters and make sure to keep them updated.

[CigarPete]

I bring books on commonly used stuff, usually Core, APG, UM, UE and maybe Bestiary. Anything I need from other books, I print out the specific page(s) from the PDF, so I don't carry URG despite running Tiefling, Aasimar and Wayang characters. I have the relevant pages printed for each entry, along with the page from ISWG for Dervish Dance, and a few other player companion books, Animal Archive, Inner Sea Magic, Tiefling and Aasimar books, character folio, etc. It still makes for a pretty heavy bag, but not as bad as it would be otherwise.

[Matthew Pittard]

What I also do is bring a leveled up version of that character. As i use Herolab but only on my home pc, Im not going to have access to print out a leveled up version ( I use a tablet not a laptop).

I generally only bring a leveled up version (not 2+) as you still will need to modify it to include new items etc. This of course might change as you decide ahead of time what you will be playing. If you are 7.2 and are likely to be playing 4 times with the same character, then logic states you would want to bring a 8 and 9 version of that character.

Seth states this far more succinctly than I have. Its always good to know what you will play ahead of time. You may get points where a game dosnt run because of a sudden lack of gm/players but generally there shouldnt be a need to plan for that.

A sight that fills me with dread is seeing the full laptop table where people are asking where the power board is, is there wifi access and so on. Ive seen people run out of power an hour into the game and there goes the only character they have, they couldn't bring one in paper form (because they dont own a printer just a 2000 dollar + laptop)

Im planning on going to America on holiday in June/July (sadly too late for Origins and too early for Gencon) but when I hit Paizocon I hope to get a few characters up in levels. Ill bring higher level versions of my characters (and a desire to play in Eyes of the Ten.. hint hint!) and all of my characters will exist in plastic sleeve folios... the types you can put A4 sized paper into). The only hard copy books I will take is guide to organised and Core rulebook.

(Incidentilly, if anyone knows of a list of cons in the US between 16th June to 16th of July I would appreciate it)

[SpiritWolfFenris]

Sounds like printing will be the easiest for me. The prints have to have your name on it though, right? Just to clarify. I always keep hard copies of my characters but never considered printing out the relevant sheets relating to it. Especially since most my characters are unorthodoxed and all over the place.

Printing out sheets for further levels is an extremely good idea.. I'll probably get 2-3 levels at least during my weekend.

You actually get credit if people don't show up for your table? o.O I'm scheduled to GM two tables but only one person has signed up on each. It's a thought I've been wondering how it works if there is a lack of people.

@Matthew; here's a couple ideas for gaming con's. I don't know much about the or if they even PFS, but they might. o.o Even a couple a few days early if you decide for an earlier start.

http://originsgamefair.com/
http://www.andocon.org/
http://www.nexusgamefair.com/#!/page_home
http://texicon.net/
http://www.weheartnerdscon.com/

[Matthew Morris]

Matthew Pittard wrote:

What I also do is bring a leveled up version of that character. As i use Herolab but only on my home pc, Im not going to have access to print out a leveled up version ( I use a tablet not a laptop).

One thign I generally do with my PCs on Herolab, is list all the alternate resources in the 'background' section of the sheet. While this doesn't invalidate the need for the additional resources, it can make it easier on the poor GM and party if you have that list. Both for him to check the alternate resources, and for you to look them up to reference.

[Sior]

Matthew Morris wrote:

Matthew Pittard wrote:

What I also do is bring a leveled up version of that character. As i use Herolab but only on my home pc, Im not going to have access to print out a leveled up version ( I use a tablet not a laptop).

One thign I generally do with my PCs on Herolab, is list all the alternate resources in the 'background' section of the sheet. While this doesn't invalidate the need for the additional resources, it can make it easier on the poor GM and party if you have that list. Both for him to check the alternate resources, and for you to look them up to reference.

I used to do this. The only reason I don't currently is because I keep forgetting to update the list... It is very handy to just say "here are my additional resources and where to find them if we should need to look them up sometime during the game."

[Matthew Pittard]

I have my 'book's on my tablet. If people want to see, it isnt too hard to show them. Generally people dont bother, and in a convention setting dont have enough time to do so.