Customer Service & Community Manager
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Gaming conventions are exciting times. With friends new and old to meet up with, new games to try, or seminars to learn at, it’s easy to burn out by pushing yourself too far too fast. Both you and your fellow convention goers will appreciate it if you take care of yourself. Here are some tips to help you and your fellow Paizo community have a fantastic convention:
1. Wash your hands Stave off con crud by washing your hands after using the bathroom and before you eat. Con crud hits every year at every convention. Give yourself a +1 to your fort save by frequently washing your hands with hot water and soap.
2. Eat. Not everyone has the same dietary needs, so make sure you take into consideration what you know about what your body needs. Plan for time in your schedule to procure and consume nutritional material. It's easy to think you can just skip or delay a meal or snack because you're gaming or need to rush to the next event, and while feeling a bit peckish might not hurt, skipping an entire meal can make it much harder to focus or induce hangriness.
2a. Be considerate with bringing food to your gaming table. Don't put yourself in a situation where you might spill your beverages on people's maps, papers or electronic devices. If someone asks you to put away your food because of a food allergy, do not argue with them or ask prying questions.
2b. Clean up trash when you are done with your gaming space.
3. Sleep & Rest Breaks. Sleep deprivation can lead to mood, memory, concentration and immunity issues. Keep your spirits up and your body fighting off con crud by getting at least a few hours of shut eye each 24 hour cycle.
4. Shower/Clean. We're going to be hosting around 800 people and sometimes the airflow isn't particularly robust enough to cope. Where one person might not be noticeable, the collective 800 people can get spaces rather pungent. Occasionally shower or wipe down to help curb this.
5. Be Respectful of other attendees, employees, hotel staff. You can review our code of conduct here: http://paizo.com/paizocon/faq.
There should always be a Paizo employee available in the Grand Ballroom (Organized Play room). If you do not immediately see a Paizo employee, you can ask the Org Play HQ to help you track them down. During store hours, you can also find employees in the PaizoCon store (Northwest Ballroom).
What are your tips for a successful gaming convention?
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5a. Respect of other attendees includes personal space. Space is at a premium, but when possible realize that everyone has a different 'comfort zone' and getting too close may cause discomfort, especially if they repeatedly attempt to 'open up the distance'.
6. Take some 'personal' time. This is NOT sleeping/resting, but is equally important. Very few people are capable of running an entire convention without sleep or cleanliness, but mental hygine is equally important.
Whether it be sitting in a windowed room and admiring the outdoors, going for a walk outside, or in a completely dark room with eyes closed meditating, take time out to regroup mentally.
The mental 'de-tox' will do wonders.
Trust me.
7. Have fun. It's easy to get wrapped up in things and stressed out to the point where the things one is doing are no longer fun, but 'just a job' or 'just a chore'. That's not fun for the person in question, and it can become infectious.
No sleep for the week.
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"These eight hours are mine, take your madness elsewhere"
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8. Share your experience with others: Not everyone is blessed with the opportunity to be here. Please share your stories, experience, meets here: 2018 PFS Bloggery.
9. In addition to washing your hands frequently, carry and use hand sanitizer.
10. Bring layers! The high will be in the 60s the first two days of the con, and even inside, the level of AC can vary wildly between rooms.
Shorts and flip-flops weather. Bring on all the AC! =D
10. Bring layers! The high will be in the 60s the first two days of the con, and even inside, the level of AC can vary wildly between rooms.
Yea, it's looking like high 60s - low 70s all weekend, add in hundreds of people and that temp feels like 20 higher...
11.) Be ready with your stuff! When you sit down to play, have your things you need ready to go - combat takes long enough as is, (especially if it's a high level game) don't make your fellow partymembers wait extra long on your turns and risk not finishing in the time slot!
12.) When in doubt, follow Wheaton's Law. We're all here to have fun!
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4 A. Scented sprays like AXE do not constitute a cleaning. They add to the problem.
4b. Some people have severe allergies to perfumes, colognes, body sprays, etc. Please do not bath in them (my wife actually stops breathing around strong scents until she removes herself from the area).
7a. HAVE FUN!!! Can never be said too many times.
11. Know Your Limits If one is going to consume adult beverages at the table, bear in mind what sort of impact they will have on one's play as well as the impact on the rest of the table's performance in a given scenario.
Please note, this is not *don't drink at all* but rather *be mindful and courteous* in one's consumption. Too much will dull even the best of wits and play will degrade dramatically at the table, more than likely. This is more a 'pace yourself before you mace yourself' sort of advisory caution...
...stay thirsty, my friends...*