Something in mind for POH GM's

[The Dark Elf]

Last year alot of the 4hr game slots were taken up with character selection. Is it worth looking to reduce that?

Also, a lot of the adventures played were not "4 hour" adventures and I, myself think I only played one game were we did actually complete the adventure. Is it worth constructing an adventure that can (and probably will be) done in just 4(ish) hours so the players enjoy the beginning, middle and end?

Any other considerations or tips from others....?

[Soldier of Od]

1. I didn't notice myself any significant time taken up by character selection. All the GMs had premade characters, and everyone was pretty quick picking theirs. Even when there were extra options to consider. Five minutes max.

2. But I do agree with your second point - it is nice to finish the adventure in the allotted time (or at least get close to it - the GM can't control everything to the second!). There were a couple of adventures where we were nowhere near finishing, and it was a little frustrating as it was difficult to see how the GM could have thought we would have been done in time. But most of the adventures I played in did finish in time, so I guess my experiences weren't as bad as yours!

[Scott Gibbons]

Only one suggestion for getting through it on time (and this is good for anyone signed up to GM at any con where there is a time limit): play-test your game before the con!

I know this sounds elemental, but it really is true. Even if you only run through it once with your regular gaming group, do it. It is absolutely invaluable, not only with getting the amount of time right, but also it can make you look like a GM'ing master at the con. How? Playing through it before hand inevitably leads to players doing things you hadn't thought of, allowing you to think your way through the adventure in greater detail than any skull-sweating you might do on your own. Then at the con, when people do unexpected things, you've already got a clear picture of the whole adventure and can instantly respond, making everyone think you are some awesome GM super-being (which you are if you follow this advice).

[Warwolf]

Last year alot of the 4hr game slots were taken up with character selection. Is it worth looking to reduce that?

Also, a lot of the adventures played were not "4 hour" adventures and I, myself think I only played one game were we did actually complete the adventure. Is it worth constructing an adventure that can (and probably will be) done in just 4(ish) hours so the players enjoy the beginning, middle and end?

Any other considerations or tips from others....?

Sheesh, you just can't please some people. I drive hundreds of miles and spend hours writing stuff for you and this is the thanks I get?

In all seriousness, if you were referring to either of my games you played in then I apologize. No matter how often I try to find the time to prepare games beforehand I seem to end up behind the 8-ball come convention time. As far as the adventures, I've never been very good at "short" games, probably due to my aversion to railroading (though I know a certain amount is to be expected in Con games). It is something I'm working on, though, and I seem to have gotten my timing down a bit better in recent years.

[Hendrik]

Last year alot of the 4hr game slots were taken up with character selection. Is it worth looking to reduce that?

Also, a lot of the adventures played were not "4 hour" adventures and I, myself think I only played one game were we did actually complete the adventure. Is it worth constructing an adventure that can (and probably will be) done in just 4(ish) hours so the players enjoy the beginning, middle and end?

Any other considerations or tips from others....?

Hi there, oh Dark Elf,

Is it worth reducing character selection?
I think so. Make it as quick as possible to get into the game, which is what I plan to do, or turn it into a feature like a character "auction".

Is it worth constructing an adventure that can (and probably will be) done in just 4(ish) hours so the players enjoy the beginning, middle and end?
I think so because it lets the players leave the game with a sense of accomplishment. I hope to achieve that by fast paced action in the combat sequences - hit, reposte, next (Kevin style) - and sort of a cliffhanger / "cut scene" technique. But you know how it is, sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't, so I will work to at least give everybody something memorable, such as a good character death

Kindest regards
Hendrik

[Spinachcat]

I'm right there with you Warwolf! I also suffer from premature game ending.

I much prefer 6 hour timeslots even though most cons I do are 4 hour slots. I fully admit that 25% of my 4 hour games end with the curtain coming down without a full resolution. I am trying very hard to bring my percentage down every year.

Involved Observer had the best advice - playtesting. If you can't playtest, then design your adventure as if it was a 30 minute TV episode. Whatever your favorite anime can do in 30 minutes is what you can generally do in a 4 hour con slot.

RPGA had a formula for their convention tournament writers in the 80s. In general, your 4 hour slot had time for two combats, one key decision, one trick, one trap and one roleplaying scene that was just gabbing with NPCs. The difference between a trick and a trap was that the trap was harmful and the trick was about misdirection. The key decision was the moment when the PCs must choose right or left and that would have profound affect moving forward. When I use this formula, I tend to do better hitting the 4 hour mark. At worse, having the scenes designed allows me to chop one out or shorten two of them to make sure we get to the conclusion.

As for character selection, GMs should only offer a limited number of pre-gens to the table. If I want 6 players, I bring 9 characters at maximum. If the adventure is tailored for the pregens, then I bring 6 PCs for a table of 6. Its also crucial to make sure your pregens are easy to read and play for people who you've never met before. Assume everyone is a noob and you generally can't go wrong.