Really enjoyed POH. Learned a couple lessons too...

[dpenwood]

I had intended to post this sooner but work/life/sleep got in the way!

I really enjoyed the Palladium Open House this year. The big problem I struggled with was the 14 hour drive. In the past, I could drive 14+ hours straight without any issue. Even as recently as two years ago, the drive from Boston to GenCon/Indianapolis wasn't an issue at all. And I love road trips! But this time the trip really nailed me, to the point where we will probably fly to Indy for GenCon this year. I arrived in Westland on Wednesday evening and didn't recover from the trip until Saturday morning... then on Sunday I had to leave to head home. Damn, I feel old!

Anyways, whining aside, this was my second POH and it was a great experience for me. I ran three events (2 Rifts, 1 HU), and they went "okay". I ran events at the 2012 POH, and at two previous GenCons... and it wasn't until this POH that an important lesson sunk in. It's one of those lessons that we all know in theory, but didn't really sink in until last weekend. The lesson: the particulars of the game doesn't matter as long as everyone has a good time. Let me explain:

My first mistake is that I tend to plan and run convention events as I would my long-term campaign. I give everyone the house rules, I get a story planned out, a puzzle or two, I have a desired start and destination point, arching story, etc.... But we all know that things never go as planned... yet I'm a better planner than an improvisor. I ran my "3:10 To Lone Star" event which, frankly, I don't think executed well. I had a cool backstory which never even got delivered to the players. I think I managed to confused everyone... yet they told me they had a good time. One player in particular stuck around and we had a long conversation. I get the feeling that even though it didn't go as I had hoped or expected, the players had fun.

I ran "Water, Water, Everywhere", my Lemuria one-shot. Again, the execution didn't go as expected. I feel like I made things too complicated and the players weren't following... yet I got complimented on the game by several people. I appreciate the compliments, but it wasn't pleased with how I ran it.

And, lastly, I ran "Band of Bothers 2: Jailbreak!". This is the game I was the least prepared for. I had run a quick test of the game and had the NPCs ready, etc but the story was weak. Yet I felt that people had the most fun from this event than my other two. One person even asked for my notes so that he could run it on it his own sometime. That's flattering!

So let's see... the events I over-prepared for didn't execute as well. The one where my preparation was more lax and general went just fine. Hmmm.... what does that tell me?

But in all three events, the players had a good time. There were laughs, conversation, etc... That's the point, right? Yeah, that didn't sink in until after this weekend. It just seems like something I should have learned 15 years ago.

I'm running the same three events at GenCon this summer, but will be tweaking them significantly. I do play-test all of these before I run them at a convention, but another problem is that my play testers tend to be people in my campaign. That's not a good test because I know them too well and I instinctively know what they're doing to do/not going to do. At a convention, you have no idea who you're going to get at your table!

Overall, it was a great weekend.I met lots of great people, had a lot of fun, learned some lessons. I hope you all had a great time as well!

[The Dark Elf]

Ive learnt a lot about running con games from my POH experiences.

1. You can never please everyone so dont try.
2. Make the characters specific to THAT adventure - so they each have something to do.
3. Its a 4 hour game. Thats about an intro plus three combat situations between story. Maybe a plot twist at the end.
4. Dont have any in game research. If your party needs to investigate - roll their success.
5. Limit the amount of people in your game to a manageable number. I dont care how many people THINK they can run large games, it's not good for the experience. Your time is too divided. Limit the audience (I suggest 6-8) and have them ALL walk away elated. Rather than a few feeling that they were left out.
6. Prepare but dont stress. Its an RPG so nothing will go according to plan and in a 4 hour game if you needed to prep so much youre in danger of losing free reign for the players.
Having said that - if you always GM Rifts and its usually in a village (or similar) then fleshing out that village is really useful and will add to every game you use it in!
7. Engage each player in turn. Your selling the product so ensure each of your audience participates. It is easy to get caught up in the louder, more in your face players (such as I) but at the expense of the quieter ones. Keep all parties involved.
8. Rewards are great! A little memento is soooo cool. You dont have to vote on "best player" but a little keep sake is a great reminder of the fun you had.
9. Have fun yourself and be yourself. Each GM does it a little differently - Youre all great!
10. If in doubt ask yourself what James Brown would do (not the singer)....

[Jerell]

So let's see... the events I over-prepared for didn't execute as well. The one where my preparation was more lax and general went just fine. Hmmm.... what does that tell me?

I've never ran a con event, but in the home campaign, I noticed over the years that I was able to improvise adventures that were just as fun, or more fun than well prepared ones. A lot of times now I just flesh out NPCs, villains/protagonist (OPFOR/Opposition Forces) and their motivations and likely courses of action (in S2 Operations fashion), familiarize myself with the terrain, climate and local culture and come up with something to get to the players started (the hook). After that the action just kind of flows out naturally. That being said, if I did run a con event I probably would make more detailed notes than I usually do, just on the comfort level or lack there of. I do still make mapped out dungeons or ships on occasion....

[Soldier of Od]

Yeah, I had a similar experience. The Palladium Open House 2012 was the first time I had ever GMed a con game and I learned some valuable lessons too. A few dos and don'ts and what kind of game works best. This time I went armed with experience and the games went much better. Learned from my mistakes. On the Sunday, some of the guys that played in my first game told me that it was the best game they played in all weekend! That totally made my whole trip.

I will be GMing again at the next open house in 2016/17/18.

[Veknironth]

Well, it also helps to have a good group of players. People who know each other a bit and can move the story along without bogging down in minutiae.

-Vek
"SoO, that's a hint."

[Mr. Jays]

Yeah, I had a similar experience. The Palladium Open House 2012 was the first time I had ever GMed a con game and I learned some valuable lessons too. A few dos and don'ts and what kind of game works best. This time I went armed with experience and the games went much better. Learned from my mistakes. On the Sunday, some of the guys that played in my first game told me that it was the best game they played in all weekend! That totally made my whole trip.

I will be GMing again at the next open house in 2016/17/18.

Looking forward to it. Glad you played in my game this year

[Soldier of Od]

Well, it also helps to have a good group of players. People who know each other a bit and can move the story along without bogging down in minutiae.

-Vek
"SoO, that's a hint."

True. I was lucky to have good players like you and your pals in my games. Thanks for the support!

Looking forward to it. Glad you played in my game this year

No, thank you for GMing it!