Venture-Agent, Minnesota
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Every convention that I've seen handles player boons differently. Most have a random roll to see if you get one. Some have a token system where you play at a certain number of tables and you can earn a boon, but you have to roll to see which one you get.
Your GMs at Aethercon should be able to tell you what boon system they'll use.
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How do you get them? I am playing in the online con this weekend (Aethercon)
So Do I get one boon per scenario or 1 per 2 and I know its random right?
At Gen Con, you'd get a 'token' for every slot you played. 2 tokens=one roll at a Boon Table, where you'd get a boon.
At a local gaming convention, they had Boons you'd 'roll off' for, with the highest roll at the table getting a Boon.
On PbP, the general rule I've seen is a '1' or a '20' on a d20 roll nets a Boon.
I cannot speak to GM boons...
I'm just super happy there's no chance of "winning" a paperback book during an online Convention.
From attending writing panels during Gencon a couple years back, I have nearly a complete set of pre-Volume 4 novel boons on ask my characters, so it's not all bad.
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Offering books in place of boons has made me really cynical this last year. The worst part about going to a Convention and GMing my heart out is "here's a book that you could have bought for $.99 at a used bookstore".
When I try to hand them out to other Con goers they give me that same "but I came here to get a boon" look that I likely have in my eyes. I then just hand them back to the prize table and walk off.
It's the only aspect of any Convention that I'm ever critical of, but for me it's a big one.
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For past online cons I've attended there have been one of two ways to get player boons. One is a roll-off at the end of the scenario, highest roll among the PC's wins a boon, I haven't seen this method in a good while. The other is everyone rolls, anyone that gets a twenty wins their choice of boon.
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Offering books in place of boons has made me really cynical this last year. The worst part about going to a Convention and GMing my heart out is "here's a book that you could have bought for $.99 at a used bookstore".
When I try to hand them out to other Con goers they give me that same "but I came here to get a boon" look that I likely have in my eyes. I then just hand them back to the prize table and walk off.
It's the only aspect of any Convention that I'm ever critical of, but for me it's a big one.
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Just so I understand, Nefreet, are you telling me that they gave you a book instead of a GM boon?
When I organize events, assuming they get convention support, I have boons, products, and books. Boons are supposed to be limited, hence the reason they have a low chance of being awarded. GM boons are to go to *every* GM, period.
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I think he's referring to player boons?
At least in the two Omaha conventions, each game you play you get a roll for a prize, including player boons, custom dice, PF Tales novels, and (on two consecutive 19/20s) new Hardcover books.
The GM reward is extra and separate.
The reason I asked is because he specifically referenced "...GMing [his] heart out..."
Here, we give you a ticket for each table you play or run, and each ticket gets you a die roll to win something. We follow the general model of "score a threat, and if you confirm a crit, you get your choice of product, otherwise a boon."
I may shake up the player boon method next time, though, figure out how many player seats I have in a given slot, take 10% of that, pull out that number of random boons, pass those boons out to random tables, then let the table randomly see who gets the boon. Less pressure on the HQ side of things, less disruptive overall with making sure people get tickets, etc.
We will still pass out novels, and probably still have a prize station for hard covers (though, I often times pass those out to certain folks - for example, had a family playing at a con this summer, one of the kids was new to PF, so I gave him a copy of the strategy guide.) We have far more flexibility on giving out product than boons, and that works fine for me.
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For past online cons I've attended there have been one of two ways to get player boons. One is a roll-off at the end of the scenario, highest roll among the PC's wins a boon, I haven't seen this method in a good while. The other is everyone rolls, anyone that gets a twenty wins their choice of boon.wow - I'd like that! Then when I Take 10 I'd win (sometimes)!
;)
Nosig mentioned Take 10! Everyone take a drink!
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Here, we give you a ticket for each table you play or run, and each ticket gets you a die roll to win something. We follow the general model of "score a threat, and if you confirm a crit, you get your choice of product, otherwise a boon."
I may shake up the player boon method next time, though, figure out how many player seats I have in a given slot, take 10% of that, pull out that number of random boons, pass those boons out to random tables, then let the table randomly see who gets the boon. Less pressure on the HQ side of things, less disruptive overall with making sure people get tickets, etc.
I've seen both methods used and it seems the conventions where you exchange a token to roll a die, draw from the harrow deck, or some other method with ~10% success rate are much more enjoyable to the players than the "pass out to the tables" method.
We may know intellectually it's statistically nearly identical but from a psychological standpoint it feels like a competition between the people who have just been supporting each other when it's guaranteed that only one person at the table is going to get the boon. (Not to mention "why did our table not get one at all? That's not fair!")
Also when the new player ends up with a boon from having the high roll at the table they kinda go. . ."OK?"
Online... yeah, that's going to be different.
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The two methods I see are:
1) every table gets a boon, and that boon goes to the highest roller
2) every game gets you a token, and two tokens earn you a random boon
Method #1 has disappeared, and been replaced with method #2, IME.
Method #2 started offering books (which previously were handed out for free; no rolling required), and sometimes only a roll of a 19 or 20 earns you a boon.
It makes me upset. I have -zero- interest in novels. That's not a "prize" to me. I go to Conventions to participate in the stories, not to read someone else's. If I wanted to read a novel, I'd go buy the novel. I don't have the option to buy boons.
They still give me a GM Race Boon, but really it's the player boons I'm more interested in. And the quantity of player boons, so I have something to trade in the Boon Trading Thread.
Boons are supposed to be incentives to go to Conventions. Limiting the chances of getting Convention boons takes away that incentive.
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Nosig mentioned Take 10! Everyone take a drink!For past online cons I've attended there have been one of two ways to get player boons. One is a roll-off at the end of the scenario, highest roll among the PC's wins a boon, I haven't seen this method in a good while. The other is everyone rolls, anyone that gets a twenty wins their choice of boon.wow - I'd like that! Then when I Take 10 I'd win (sometimes)!
;)
Heck, I have the power to get everyone drunk?!
That depends. Make a skill check to see if you can succeed at that.
Venture-Lieutenant, Netherlands—Leiden
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We use tokens. 2 tokens gets you a roll; on a middling roll you get a random boon, on a 'crit' you get some soft- or even hardcover sourcebook.
I used to save them up until the next con hoping that one would've cooler boons, and then lose them in travel mishaps :s
A while back Auke was handing out misdelivered novels. I rather liked Rain of Stars actually. It's also a nice spoiler-free thing for Iron Gods players to read to get them disliking the Technic League.
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The two methods I see are:
1) every table gets a boon, and that boon goes to the highest roller
2) every game gets you a token, and two tokens earn you a random boonMethod #1 has disappeared, and been replaced with method #2, IME.
Method #2 started offering books (which previously were handed out for free; no rolling required), and sometimes only a roll of a 19 or 20 earns you a boon.
It makes me upset. I have -zero- interest in novels. That's not a "prize" to me. I go to Conventions to participate in the stories, not to read someone else's. If I wanted to read a novel, I'd go buy the novel. I don't have the option to buy boons.
They still give me a GM Race Boon, but really it's the player boons I'm more interested in. And the quantity of player boons, so I have something to trade in the Boon Trading Thread.
Boons are supposed to be incentives to go to Conventions. Limiting the chances of getting Convention boons takes away that incentive.
Hey Nefreet,
Sorry you've been unhappy with the change, it's totally a problem I've been wrestling with, let me pull back the curtain and explain some of the mechanics/thoughts, maybe there's something obvious I'm missing.
So, when you hand a boon out to every table and have them roll off, every seat has a ~14% chance of getting a boon.
When you hand out a token, and let 2 tokens be a roll, and 6 die results are a boon, you get a ~15% chance of getting a boon/seat.
So, if we're doing tokens, and I can say have maybe 18-20 be various physical prizes like flip mats, ACG decks, CRBs, etc.
What do I do with the other 11 numbers?
Now, I hate sending people away empty handed, so I put the novels there.
Problem: Our most experienced players don't want the novels, in fact they tend to see winning a novel as worse than nothing (as it looks like you do). It's like I'm pretending they are a winner when I've handed them a crap filled paper bag.
For them, all they want is a boon, books/flipmats might be nice, but sometimes people will ask if they can have a boon instead, and we usually say yes.
Personally, even if the odds are the same I really don't like the roll off at the table method, I've already got lots of boons so it makes me feel guilty to roll off against some poor kid trying to win his first boon. I've solved this by declining to participate, other people at the table seem confused but obviously don't object.
So in short, I totally feel your pain and its a side effect of trying to solve a different problem. I'm not satisfied with our current solution and am totally open to considering other options. I can't promise we'll do them, but I'd love to hear any ideas you (or others) have either privately or publicly.
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The two methods I see are:
1) every table gets a boon, and that boon goes to the highest roller
2) every game gets you a token, and two tokens earn you a random boonMethod #1 has disappeared, and been replaced with method #2, IME.
Method #2 started offering books (which previously were handed out for free; no rolling required), and sometimes only a roll of a 19 or 20 earns you a boon.
It makes me upset. I have -zero- interest in novels. That's not a "prize" to me. I go to Conventions to participate in the stories, not to read someone else's. If I wanted to read a novel, I'd go buy the novel. I don't have the option to buy boons.
They still give me a GM Race Boon, but really it's the player boons I'm more interested in. And the quantity of player boons, so I have something to trade in the Boon Trading Thread.
Boons are supposed to be incentives to go to Conventions. Limiting the chances of getting Convention boons takes away that incentive.
Hey Nefreet,
Sorry you've been unhappy with the change, it's totally a problem I've been wrestling with, let me pull back the curtain and explain some of the mechanics/thoughts, maybe there's something obvious I'm missing.
So, when you hand a boon out to every table and have them roll off, every seat has a ~14% chance of getting a boon.
When you hand out a token, and let 2 tokens be a roll, and 6 die results are a boon, you get a ~15% chance of getting a boon/seat.
So, if we're doing tokens, and I can say have maybe 18-20 be various physical prizes like flip mats, ACG decks, CRBs, etc.
What do I do with the other 11 numbers?
Now, I hate sending people away empty handed, so I put the novels there.
Problem: Our most experienced players don't want the novels, in fact they tend to see winning a novel as worse than nothing (as it looks like you do). It's like I'm pretending they are a winner when I've handed them a crap filled paper bag.
For them, all they want is a boon, books/flipmats might be nice, but sometimes people will ask if they can have a boon instead, and we usually say yes.
Personally, even if the odds are the same I really don't like the roll off at the table method, I've already got lots of boons so it makes me feel guilty to roll off against some poor kid trying to win his first boon. I've solved this by declining to participate, other people at the table seem confused but obviously don't object.
So in short, I totally feel your pain and its a side effect of trying to solve a different problem. I'm not satisfied with our current solution and am totally open to considering other options. I can't promise we'll do them, but I'd love to hear any ideas you (or others) have either privately or publicly.
I'll ask the obvious question,
Why is giving away more boons not really an option? They have a cost that approaches 0. They are not so good that they will overpower a character. Why is giving away more not a reasonable option?
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Perhaps it's perception.
If I don't win at the table, that's fine. Someone got a boon, and I get nothing.
If I don't win at the wheel, I get a novel (aka "worse than nothing").
In practice, the math seems off. I received tons of boons during my first couple years going to Conventions. This year I've barely gotten any.
My preferred method would be three fold:
1) Every table gets a boon; highest roller wins that boon
2) Everyone gets a raffle ticket per slot; flipmats/hardcovers/etc go to raffle winners
3) Novels are placed on a table for whoever to grab whenever
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There are guidelines given to convention organizers on how many boons can be given away; those guidelines have fluctuated over time. How a particular convention chooses to handle it is the choice of the organizers, so long as they stay within those guidelines.
Part of the limitation placed on distribution of boons is to keep them from being a 'participation award', something you get automatically. It's a difficult balance for the Campaign to manage, and not everyone is going to agree with their thinking and rules.
As a convention organizer who strives to keep the 'swag' giveaways fun and interesting beyond just the item itself, I will admit that the 'cooler' the methods, the more work and logistics for the organizer. And expensive, if you're of a mind to supplement the boon and physical prize support with your own items. (Having made buttons, pins, gift certificates for local gaming businesses, cookies, and other things happen at my conventions, I know what I'm talking about there. :) )
I'm not going to tell anyone not to be disgruntled about their odds of walking away with boons from a convention; at the same time, know that there has been a lot of thought put into why the overarching guidelines are as they are, and just like in the past may change over time as they see the impact of said guidelines, and that polite disagreement and reasoned discussion does weigh in to those deliberations. (No, I am not saying anyone is being badwrongnegative. Just helping to keep things constructive.)
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Our local cons use the "participate in X events, roll on the prize table" method, and I think it works pretty well. In addition to the boons, there are PFS dice, physical products, and yes, gasp, novels. It works pretty good for us in the midwest. Saying that a free novel is worse than getting nothing seems silly to me. It's a free book, if you don't want it, someone else will, give it to them and make their day better.
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My preferred method would be three fold:
1) Every table gets a boon; highest roller wins that boon
2) Everyone gets a raffle ticket per slot; flipmats/hardcovers/etc go to raffle winners
3) Novels are placed on a table for whoever to grab whenever
I think that's how we did it at Pacificon this year, I still haven't decided for DundraCon although I may do something cool with a HarrowDeck instead of a die.
Venture-Captain, Netherlands
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I personally like the wooden token method. We dont have a lot of events in the netherlands that warrant boon support, so when we turn in coins, there are three player boons. You roll a D20, where 1-6 gets you boon 1, 7-12 boon two and 13-18 boon 3, and a crit a product.
If we dont have enough products to hand out (we only get those sparingly too, and you want to have enough to hand out something to everyone in case a lot of crits happen), we just roll a D6 to see which one you get.
Trading can happen emediately at the table.
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Venture-Lieutenant, Netherlands—Leiden
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I like the wooden token method in the Netherlands too. When you turn them in you're guaranteed to get something, and if you're lukewarm about this Con's offerings you can save them to try your luck next time. Meanwhile, the wooden tokens are ideally sized to represent Enlarge Person spells under your favourite mini.
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I am speaking from experience in a different few campaigns, as well as my relatively meager year plus in PFS play.
Boons should feel special, do feel special(sometimes), a little bit extra 'something' for characters.
Unfortunately, the rolled Boons from this year's Gen Con table felt dramatically underwhelming compared to the ones from last year's.
In addition, there were no 'auction boons' this year.
I can understand the reason why there weren't 'auction boons' (It turns the game into a spending contest and honest hard-working folks saving their cash and skimping can't afford that kind of 'buy-in'.)
In different campaigns there would be events and the boons or the certificates ('certs'), usually with some sort of expiration date (either level of the character or months of real time) were issued to almost everyone. And they lost all their 'specialness', until the one time a new player sat down, something happened, and *everyone else* whipped out the cert/Boon and the new player went 'What?'.
Wanting Boons to be 'something special'? This is kind of cool and neat.
Boons becoming exclusionary and elitist 'glass ceilings' to players who either roll poorly at the boon table or at a given game table at smaller venues? That's not so neat.
I've gotten exceedingly lucky on my boons, and I've even offered up my remaining ones on the trading thread for folks that want them as a result.
If one was a brand new player and one saw people rolling for (or using) something cool at a table and they didn't 'win' that, it'd be a definite damper on one's enthusiasm.
If there were some way to signify a number of scenarios that one could play to 'get' a boon (but more than just 'showing up' once), and that boon *did something lasting/meaningful*, that might give them a bit more weight without diminishing their 'special' nature?
Please note: Not including campaign service/GM boons in this. This is just throwing darts at the concern, trying to see if I'm even close to the mark.
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Venture-Captain, Netherlands
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Unless the organizer in the Netherlands got special permission from Mike at the time they were giving more boons out then they are supposed to. They are supposed to be a lot more rare then that.
Yes we do. We hardly make support numbers so Mike and Auke made a deal so that when we do, we get something nice that hopefully helps the community grow.
We have five events that are big enough a year. Four times Ducosim, and one time a year we hold the special. Altough with the changes we'll get two special. So that would make six events a year.
If you attend one of those, you get a wooden coin. Two coins lets you roll for a boon.
So, if you attend every event, you would get three playere boons a year. Max.
We have no other ways letting players earn those as we currently have a too small player base.
Convention play like in the USA does not happen here.
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My preferred method would be three fold:1) Every table gets a boon; highest roller wins that boon
2) Everyone gets a raffle ticket per slot; flipmats/hardcovers/etc go to raffle winners
3) Novels are placed on a table for whoever to grab whenever
I'm a new player in PFS, started earlier this year. I live in Canberra (Australia), and I attended PaizoConOz earlier this year, and that's how it went down. It was pretty awesome - I did 4 games, got one boon, and won a raffle so I got a CRB, which is nice. I think I'd prefer this way to the ticket method, but I haven't done the ticket one, so it's hard to say.
We do have a lot less events here in Aus than the US has, so there's always that to consider in boon related stuff here.
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Venture-Lieutenant, Nebraska—Omaha
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I would like to see convention support including a charity boon.
My local convention has a charity raffle that many other participants donate boons or goods, too. These are usually pretty unique and sometimes silly boons, like once-per-adventure using the lottery numbers from a fortune cookie instead of rolling.
I am always a bit disappointed that PFS doesn't participate in the raffle. My idea would be to offer one boon to each convention for use in charity auctions, raffles or similar. They would be a little more special than standard convention boons, but not globally unique. It is an opportunity to give a little more visibility to PFS at conventions with multiple RPGs, and supports the philanthropic efforts of conventions.
Do other conventions have charity raffles?