As you all know, a couple of weekends ago I elected to bring TTRPGs to Liverpool ComicCon. This meant me not attending AireCon in Harrogate. However, my friend and fellow convention Referee Martin Pickett DID go and has kindly given me permission to post his convention report:
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Apologies in advance, this is a long one.
I've singled this out as a report on the RPG section, as it was a distinct sub-section (sideshow?) of the frankly heaving board game con.
I went to Airecon purely as a GM, signed up to hopefully run games in every slot I was there. This was my first time at Airecon, and I think also the first time they decided to get serious about pushing the RPGs. As such, there are obviously going to be teething problems and adjustments to be made on both sides.
The good:
- A clear RPG track, announced in advance on the website.
- Pre-submission of games so they could advertised.
- Pre-sign ups through the website (I know that's not universally regarded as a benefit. As a GM it gives me comfort to see that people are going to play my games. So sue me).
- A dedicated RPG area at the con.
- GM perks (free entry, cheap tea/coffee, food vouchers, t-shirts).
- A staffed RPG desk to handle on the day sign-ups.
The bad:
- Uncertainty! Lots of it! I mean, just tons and tons.
- A feeling of definitely being a sideshow, or possibly the ugly step-child...
Airecon had been on my maybe list, until I got an email from John Dodd (sent to his Expo GM list) asking for volunteers to run games. With that motivation, I signed up. The request was for 4-hour games, or 2x 2-hour games. I submitted 3 4-hour games and 3 2-hours (to be run twice each). The uncertainty factor kicked in when the schedule came out, and all my games were listed once only. The games schedule was published as a google doc, buried behind a link in the FAQ on the website, which seemed a bit obscure. No indication of how long any game was. However, the start times for the slots was given, 10.30, 2, and 7, except on Sunday they were 10.30 and 2.30. Meaning the morning was about 2.5 hours (allowing an hour for lunch). Explains why some of my 2-hour games went in the morning slots, I guess.
The online ticketing followed the schedule, I was concerned that punters were paying the same for 4 and 2 hour games and didn't know which they were getting, but it's not my show.
I arrived on Friday afternoon, and at the desk I was given my badge and told to go see the RPG desk to get the rest of my goodies. My friend who arrived with me was simultaneously told to go to the crew room to pick up his stuff. We decided to head to the desk, to ask the folk there. They said the front desk should have had all our stuff, although apparently the food vouchers had run out (uh-oh, bad sign). This was a trend - the mugs allocated for volunteers for the cheap hot drinks had apparently run out, I ended up liberating some spares from the crew room on Saturday morning. I was "lent" food vouchers for Saturday by two of the other volunteers, a supply turned up in time for lunch on Sunday (last meal of the con).
The printed programme had the RPG slot start times, but no end times. Oh, and the afternoon slot now starts at 2.30, except for Sunday when it's at 3. The con closes at 11 on Fri/Sat, 6 on Sun. As it happened, the RPG desk staff told people to turn up at 2.30 on Sunday as well. Which would be OK, but the tear down started at 4 when the trade hall closed, and the RPG desk and tables were also being tidied away. My game petered out at about 5, by which time we were surrounded by chairs stacked on tables.
I'm going to interpret this stuff as the aforementioned teething troubles that will be sorted out. Next year will be the test. My friend had a (considerably) longer drive and less fun, so he's going to give it a miss next year and wait for my report.
Games I ran:
Fri night: The Great Martian Tripod Race (Manifold). This was the first time in two years I've run this scenario, and it's still good fun. I was a bit lucky, only 1 player had signed up for my game but another GM was a no-show and his 3 players decided to join. The game ran for the full 4 hour slot, winding up just before we were kicked out of the hall at 11.
Sat morning: Degrees Of Separation (Is It A Plane?!). The quick-start scenario for this diceless, draw-your-actions superhero game. A family of 6 had signed up (this game sold out, I only sold one other ticket in advance for any of the others), so we went at it full throttle. A bit hit and miss, I think this game works better second or third time, once you've got the hang of it. I submitted it as a 2-hour game, actually filled the 2.5 hour slot.
Sat afternoon: The Dolls Of The Fathers (Fate). The group really seemed to get the hang of Fate, using the rules to create aspects to build up advantages to overcome their opponents. Lots of fun, everyone went away happy (or faking well). I'm still not completely satisfied with the scenario, but I think it's a lot better than the last time I ran it (at Contingency).
Sat night: The Rescue Of Ethlinn (Monkey system, Celtic myth setting). This was another of my 2-hour games, but one of the rare 4-hour slots. It's half of a 4-hour game, so I offered the players the option of either. They actually chose to have the 2-hour option so they could go to see something at 9, so that was OK. Managed to finish exactly on time, went quite well I think.
Sun morning: If You See Buddha On The Road (Monkey). The quick-start for this dice-less, card based Chinese myth game. 5 players, one playing their first ever RPG, another had been briefing his friends on Monkey lore all weekend (turned up wearing a Monkey TV series shirt!). Again, submitted as 2 hours, ran about 2.5. Good fun.
Sun afternoon: The Schooling Of Tomomi (Manifold). Magical Girl anime game, 4 hour game that actually only ran for about 2 hours once the break to collect stuff from the bring and buy was figured in. Managed to get the players to the end of the first magical battle scene, which was a good place to stop. Not the best game I've had, but not (quite) the worst either.
Verdict: I got to run all my games (through luck more than judgement), so I had a reasonable time despite the organisation. I will go again purely on the strength of that. If the organisation is a hot mess again next year, I may skip it after that.
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Thanks Martin! I've been to several AireCons and my views generally agree with his. However, I'd like to point out that, in my experience, any uncertainty about the TTRPGs there has simply been through there not being enough interest on the part of punters. The organisers would like a successful TTRPG track but nothing I've seen them try has tempted enough people away from the excellent board game offerings. Their hearts are in the right place. They just need to find format that suits the clientele.
Oh, and Martin is an excellent convention Referee. If you have a chance to get into one of his games at a convention, they come with my personal recommendation.
STOP PRESS: since my original posting of Martin's report, several people have given me their viewpoints on the event . One is from Guy Milner which seems to tie in with most people's feelings:
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I thought the RPG offerings at Airecon were much stronger this year - I'm glad I went and ran stuff! It's always going to be a part of a bigger board gaming con, but there was a good range of games on offer and I didn't feel like we were sidelined or anything - we had the better deal, in a spacious and well aerated area compared to the board games!
My review of it was that RPGs seem to have hit critical mass this year, and it should certainly be sustainable. I think a little more clarity about slot length might be an improvement (I was surprised, during the Saturday morning game, when the GM suggested - although we were clearly near the final battle- that we break for lunch and them come back to play) but that was a fairly minor quibble that's easily fixed
I ran two games to a good mix of enthusiastic players who were from outside my usual con contacts, and played a game similarly (although I found myself sat with two GPL regulars ha).
So don't be disheartened. RPGs felt like a proper part of it this year, and I'll be back running more games next year.
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