|
Correct
#1) buy a gencon badge
#1a) figure out where you're staying (gencon has a hotel registration system as well; MOST of the hotels around gencon are almost entirely sold out to gencon, but there are shuttles to hotels further out...)
#2) search for registered games and sign up. There IS a fee -- I forget if games were $6 or $8 last year. Note that there are usually 3 sessions (potential games) Thurs, Fri, and Sat, and 2 on Sunday, so you can play until your brain explodes if you want....
That said: gencon is an awesome but huge experience. you'll want to do more than just PFS (go visit the dealer room -- that is a MASSIVE time sink, but oh so fun!)
|
|
expanding:
gencon hotel info : note that the "downtown campus" is where gencon actually occurs.
2014 gencon shuttle info 2014, so outdated, but I anticipate that it will be repeated in 2015.
Other options: know anyone who lives in Indy? You might be able to find crash space and carpool....
This last Gencon was my first time getting out to one. But as Sabre said, once you get your badge, get a hotel room. Stuff fills up fast. The PFS games do have a cost to register, last year was $6 for most. I think there might have been a few events that were more, but they were the special ones.
And yes, there is A LOT more to do and see when at Gencon. The vendors room was a blast to walk through and see all the stuff.
|
Wait for Paizo's GM call to show up. Sign up with Paizo ASAP. Assuming enough slots, let Paizo take care of your registration.#1) buy a gencon badgeI've never paid for a Convention before.
What is the process for ppl who are aiming to GM instead?
I want this to be my first GenCon as well.
I've heard a hotel room may be covered for Tier 1 GMs as well?
If I go, it'd only be as a GM.
Global Organized Play Coordinator
|
Wait for Paizo's GM call to show up. Sign up with Paizo ASAP. Assuming enough slots, let Paizo take care of your registration.#1) buy a gencon badgeI've never paid for a Convention before.
What is the process for ppl who are aiming to GM instead?
I want this to be my first GenCon as well.
I've heard a hotel room may be covered for Tier 1 GMs as well?
If I go, it'd only be as a GM.
Tier 1 and 2 GMs receive a one-quarter share of a hotel room.
|
|
Alrighty, one last question:
The Convention goes from Thursday-Sunday.
Is the hotel from Wednesday-Monday?
Or do I have to find other arrangements for Wednesday and Sunday night? I ask because I live in California, so I'd have to fly in Wednesday night and likely have to fly out Monday morning.
Edit: had the wrong days written originally
Venture-Captain, Texas—Waco
|
Another piece of advice after several trips to GenCon - if you're going to be a Tier 1 or 2 GM and get the bed in a shared room, you can wait for the GM call to come out. If you have a prebuilt group of GMs you want to share a room with, Mike will appreciate you guys letting him know that when you send in your GM request, it's one less thing he has to worry about.
However, if you're going with your family like me and won't be taking advantage of the GM room then you'll need to have at least one of you pay GenCon for your badge in the first week of registration. That way one of you can get the hotel code from GenCon and then participate in the mad rush for a discounted room when that website opens. If you buy your badge in advance before you decide to volunteer to GM you're OK, when Paizo submits your name (with GenCon registration number) for a GM badge GenCon will reimburse you for the one you paid for. It'll just be a few months later.
|
Venture-Captain, Texas—Waco
|
Alrighty, one last question:
The Convention goes from Thursday-Sunday.
Is the hotel from Wednesday-Monday?
Or do I have to find other arrangements for Thursday and Sunday night? I ask because I live in California, so I'd have to fly in Thursday night and likely have to fly out Monday morning.
Although I haven't taken advantage of the room, I'm almost positive it's Wednesday - Monday, or at a minimum Wednesday - Sunday.
GenCon shuts down fairly early on Sunday, that's why there's only one PFS slot. However, many people do take the rest of Sunday to try and recover. :)
|
|
Just for clarification, the one-quarter of a hotel room does not mean your spouse/significant other can come and bunk with you as well, unless they are also a Tier 1-2 GM. Although if both of you are Tier 1-2 of course you can room together, and you can make requests with who you want to room with, as long as all those people are cool with it.
If you dont have anyone specific in mind, Mike will try to pair you with another couple, though you dont have to.
Also, if this is your first year, make sure to give yourself some time to check out the dealer hall. Its only open like 10-6, I think.
Contributor
|
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Bloomington may be about an hour away from Indy, but we have games on Sunday evenings on the IU campus and Mondays at our FLGS, so if GenCon doesn't wear you down and you don't mind a few hours in a car, I'm sure we can arrange for out of town visitors who want to play a bit after GMing all throughout GenCon... :P
|
|
I think that everyone should experience GenCon.... once. But given how nasty the natives in Indianapolis are compared to the people who treated us so nice and politely in Milwaukee, I wouldn't suggest anyone go more than once. I've found the locals to have the worst qualities of New Yorkers, with none of the redeeming aspects. I don't think I'll ever make another trip to GenCon unless it goes back to Milwaukee.
Never went to Gencon in Milwaukee, but Ive never had a bad experience in Indy with the people.
|
|
I have never played Pathfinder at GenCon as I can always find opportunities to play the same games locally at a later time. However are there specials that occur at GenCon that are exclusive and not repeated elsewhere?
Sometimes.
A couple of years ago, there was a GenCon-only part 2 to the Race to the Runecarved Key special.
And, for the true Specials, there is the minimum number of tables limit, which can make it difficult for some areas to be able to run them locally. My area, for instance, is back to only one table for the two days we have public PFS that I know of.
|
|
I really don't understand what LazarX is running into. I've been to conventions all over and the experience at GenCon has been awesome. But as people's experiences will vary I certainly hope he gives it another try. You never know, LazarX; maybe you just had an unlucky experience the one time.
Though I have to say that the way GenCon is growing is getting crazy. The crowds are becoming a stunner over time. The line to get into the Paizo booth last summer was unbelievable.
I think this year I will be crazy and take the plunge to be a Paizo volunteer.
|
I've been to GenCon in Indy three times now and each time I've gotten nothing but positive reception from the locals I deal with. Whether it was the cab driver on the way in from the airport who last year told us they like this conference because there is very little violence that weekend, or the servers at nearby restaurants who do cosplay, or the very friendly people at Scotty's, basically every interaction I've had has been positive.
Something to keep in mind for any large multigenre convention...
Try to schedule some time outside the gaming rooms. There's a ton of stuff to look at and try out, and it would be a damn shame for you to travel a good distance, potentially pay a significant sum of money for room/registration/travel, and end up spending the entire weekend cooped up in a stuffy little room.
-j