I am planning on starting an organized event in my area and would like some advice and tips on how to go about doing that.
I already know how to go about reporting and signing up the event. I also have an idea for a place to hold the event but would still like advice on where you hold your events.
1. Do you have to purchase several copies of the scenario being run...
2. Making sure you have enough GM's for the event...
3. How do you get the word out to individuals who might be interested in your event...
4. How long should your event be set up for...
5. How often should you hold your event, Weekly, monthly, or yearly...
6. Any other helpful tips or advice...
Thank you
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I am planning on starting an organized event in my area and would like some advice and tips on how to go about doing that.
I already know how to go about reporting and signing up the event. I also have an idea for a place to hold the event but would still like advice on where you hold your events.
1. Do you have to purchase several copies of the scenario being run...
2. Making sure you have enough GM's for the event...
3. How do you get the word out to individuals who might be interested in your event...
4. How long should your event be set up for...
5. How often should you hold your event, Weekly, monthly, or yearly...
6. Any other helpful tips or advice...Thank you
1 You may purchase one. You may then reuse it many times. At my next game day for example Doug Doug will run mists of mwangi for the 14th time. Digital copies are a no-no. Print out a spare if you have more than one judge.
2 Lots of hair pulling. Some blackmail, emotional and otherwise works. Or get a core of people to take turns eating mods. Veterans can be persuaded for a while to judge for new people but will lose interest if none of them step up and do the same.3 Yahoo groups, here, going to local cons and running events there, meetup, flyers at a game store. It really depends on your locale.
4 If you are looking at a local thing no more than one or two slots if you are going to run often.
5 I run 2 slots every other Sunday. I am also fortunate to be in an area where alot of people can play and will also judge.
6 Make it an open to the public event if at all possible. Be aware that some people are thin skinned and will not deal well with other types of players. (children, loud, too much roleplay, not enough roleplay, etc)
Also that a certain ratio of people with play 1-6 times and you will not see them again. Don't take that personal as it is the nature of organized play.
Post your planned schedule as clearly as possible as far in advance as you can. If someone says they already played something hit them up to judge and then if they do let them pick what to play next time.
Den
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I am planning on starting an organized event in my area and would like some advice and tips on how to go about doing that.
I already know how to go about reporting and signing up the event. I also have an idea for a place to hold the event but would still like advice on where you hold your events.
1. Do you have to purchase several copies of the scenario being run...
2. Making sure you have enough GM's for the event...
3. How do you get the word out to individuals who might be interested in your event...
4. How long should your event be set up for...
5. How often should you hold your event, Weekly, monthly, or yearly...
6. Any other helpful tips or advice...Thank you
First let me welcome you to the roster of organizers. It is very fulfilling to see your players leaving an event having had a lot of fun and talking up their experience.
1. No. In fact, it'll be easier to get GM's if they do not have to buy the scenarios they will run. Hopefully, they will get bitten by the GM bug and want to buy copies for themselves. I'm sure Paizo would appreciate it, and it helps Josh track involvement.
2. Finding GM's, for some areas, is the biggest challenge. The number of GM's will depend on how many tables you will offer for each slot and how many slots. Doing some little things for your GM's will also influence to help out. Provide chronicle sheets, faction missions, miniatures, maps, drinks/snacks, if possible, to show your appreciation. After all, gamers LOVE free stuff
3. Color fliers with your contact info left at the FLGS work. And find out the gaming schedule of other games and visit the store during those times to talk up PFS. While most gamers have a specific game they prefer, we all like to dabble in other games. Posting at the local high school and/or university definitely works. Obviously, using the Paizo message boards is a no-brainer.
4. Typically you can run a scenario in four hours, but make some time for admin at the beginning and end. PFS slots at major cons are five-hour slots just for this reason. It may not be necessary though if you can muster quickly.
5. Any interval will work as long as your players/GM's can attend. I started with one table bi-weekly back in November '09 and now we are running weekly and sit nearly three full tables. When you run will depend on your players. My event is mostly adult players so weekday evenings work out for them. If your players are mostly still in school, a weekend day will likely get you better attendance.
6. Be prepared. If you will be using maps/minis, have them pre-sorted. Fill out part of the chronicle sheet (date, event info) beforehand to save time. Make sure the GM's read the scenario in advance at least twice. Getting them a copy a week in advance is a good idea. If issues arise that you have to rule on, keep the intent of the rules in mind and err in the player's favor. There are many threads that discuss things like allowing someone to play out of tier, too few, too many players, etc. Hold to the rules as much as possible, but remember the play play play rule. Don't be afraid of the occasional character death or even a TPK, but you don't want a reputation as a killer GM either. Find out what your players like about the game and focus on that. If they prefer role-playing, you can do more cinematic combat. Or if they like the fighting, ramp up your tactics and let the dice decide the role-playing. The main thing is HAVE FUN!!!
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I am planning on starting an organized event in my area and would like some advice and tips on how to go about doing that.
I already know how to go about reporting and signing up the event. I also have an idea for a place to hold the event but would still like advice on where you hold your events.
1. Do you have to purchase several copies of the scenario being run...
2. Making sure you have enough GM's for the event...
3. How do you get the word out to individuals who might be interested in your event...
4. How long should your event be set up for...
5. How often should you hold your event, Weekly, monthly, or yearly...
6. Any other helpful tips or advice...Thank you
First let me welcome you to the roster of organizers. It is very fulfilling to see your players leaving an event having had a lot of fun and talking up their experience.
1. No. In fact, it'll be easier to get GM's if they do not have to buy the scenarios they will run. Hopefully, they will get bitten by the GM bug and want to buy copies for themselves. I'm sure Paizo would appreciate it, and it helps Josh track involvement.
2. Finding GM's, for some areas, is the biggest challenge. The number of GM's will depend on how many tables you will offer for each slot and how many slots. Doing some little things for your GM's will also influence to help out. Provide chronicle sheets, faction missions, miniatures, maps, drinks/snacks, if possible, to show your appreciation. After all, gamers LOVE free stuff
3. Color fliers with your contact info left at the FLGS work. And find out the gaming schedule of other games and visit the store during those times to talk up PFS. While most gamers have a specific game they prefer, we all like to dabble in other games. Posting at the local high school and/or university definitely works. Obviously, using the Paizo message boards is a no-brainer.
4. Typically you can run a scenario in four hours, but make some time for admin at the beginning and end. PFS slots at major...
All of these are really great ideas. I started our gaming group back in Dec 09 and have watched it grow from 4 of us to two weekly groups and a monthly two slot game day with 3 tables per slot. It was definitely a labor of love at first when it seemed that I was the only one doing the work and unless you can find some good help, at times it will feel like that for you but if you keep at it, you can build something cool. It will always be a bit of work (especially when unexpected things happen like your DM calling you 30 minutes before game day starts to let you know that they wouldn't be there since their chinchilla threw up) but it is definitely worth it when you hear the players cheering when that final bad guy falls.